Safe & Sound
by angelcagalli
Summary: OC/Legolas! Michelle finds herself waking up in a strange new world, and finds that it's much more dangerous than from where she was comes from. Owing her life to Aragorn on her first day, he takes her under his wing, and eventually introduces her to a certain blonde elf. As she joins the fellowship, and follows them across Middle Earth, adventure is not the only thing she finds.
1. Prologue

_ Okay, so this is my first Lord of the Rings fanfic, and it's been a really long time since I've written __anything to be honest, so excuse me if it's not the best, I'm really out of practice. Now, I'm going to try __my best with this, but I never read any of the books. I tried to, I really tried, but I couldn't do it. It didn't __grasp my interest and I gave up. But I adore the movies. So, I'm going about my information here based __on what I read on wiki, the movies, and other fanfics similar to mine. If you see a mistake, let me know in __a review, nicely of course. Don't be all mean about it, I'm human, I make mistakes. Also, I'm sorry if my __prologue is misleading. This is an OC/Legolas fanfic, however when watching the movies I always __imagined my character meeting Legolas through Aragorn when he arrives in Rivendell with the hobbits,__so this is how I decided to go about meeting Aragorn. I'm going to do a time skip, my next chapter will be __around when the Hobbits arrive in Bree, and I'll be back to using Michelle's POV. So, let me know what __you think in the reviews! It's so easy to make reviews now so you have no excuse not to! Ha-ha, be nice __though. Don't go being mean to me, because it doesn't take a lot to make me sad._

* * *

_I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go_

_When all those shadows almost killed your light_

* * *

"Michelle! Is everything okay in there?" A worried mother asked on the other side of her child's locked bedroom door. On the other side of that door though, everything was the opposite of fine. A young woman, the age of eighteen, sobbed heavily into her pillow, soaking the fabric with salty tears.

"Everything's fine." Michelle called out, masking her voice with a fake calmness, wavering only slightly. Her mother, not hearing the waver in her daughter's voice nodded and decided to leave her alone. Her daughter came home from work early without calling for a ride, and slammed the front door upon arriving home and quickly retreated into her room without at least the courtesy of informing the family she was home.

Michelle continued to sob as her world had been crashed upside down. It was literally the worst day she had ever experienced in her life. First on the list of today's miserables, is the rejection letter she received in the mail, notifying her she did not get accepted into the college she had wanted to attend. It was on the other side of her home state of Pennsylvania, and she wanted to go there more than anywhere else, as it was the only place she had applied to. It was a huge let down and disappointment to discover she was not good enough to attend. Next, as she entered Hollister, the place she had been working for the past eight months, her manager stopped her at the door and told her the unfortunate news on how the store had not been making enough money to pay for all the employees and some of them had to be let go... Michelle was one of those employees. She was allowed to collect her things out of her locker in the backroom and that was it, she was unemployed. Now, if that did not make things bad enough, as she was walking through the mall, deciding whether or not she should stay and window-shop or begin to walk home, she spotted a familiar head of hair by the elevator. She recognized it to be none other than her boyfriend of one and a half years, Kevin. She was about to call to him, let him know of the news and maybe make plans to watch some cheesy romance movie or something to brighten her spirits, but before she could she witnessed a beautiful redhead step out of the elevator and Kevin quickly embraced her. At first, she was fine with this, maybe the red-head was a friend or a relative, however she saw the girl work her tongue into her boyfriend's mouth, and he seemed in no rush to push her off.

That was the final straw for Michelle. She couldn't face her boyfriend, she felt humiliated, embarrassed, and betrayed. She didn't want to embarrass herself more by making a scene in the middle of the local mall and collapsing to the ground crying. So instead, she didn't look back, and walked outside into the city air and began to walk the mile to her house, only letting silent tears slide down her face, holding off the flood until she got into the privacy of her own room.

So, there Michelle was, crying on her bed. She didn't need her mother, and her mother would not have done much anyway. For as long as Michelle could remember, her parents took care of her, gave her food, took her back and forth to where she needed to be, and lent her money when she needed it, but that was as far as it went. Besides that, her parents never paid attention to her, or gave her the guidance that most parents would give their children. Michelle could still remember all the times her older brother had beat her up in front of her mother's presence and all her mom would say is "Now that's not a nice thing to do." and then went to read the bible or something. Her father was no better. They didn't talk much at all, and the only real interaction they had was when he told her that they would be going on a hike, or a bicycle ride, or a canoe trip. He never once told her that he loved her, or that he was proud of her. Not even when she graduated from high school. Communication was limited between her and her parents, and Michelle kept them at a distance. She was raised by her brothers and the opportunity her parents had to have a close relationship with their daughter had come and passed.

"I want to leave this place…" Michelle sobbed. "There's nothing for me here, no family, Kevin was the only friend I had, no job or money…" she sniffed. "I want to find a place where people actually care about me. Where I'm not suspicious of everyone I meet… I wish I could start a new life for myself." She said silently to herself, and she meant every word. If something happened to where she was no longer in her crummy town, she knew she would not miss the people.

She closed her eyes, pressing her cheek into her tear-soaked pillow and tried to calm herself by listening to a catchy techno song inside her head, called Interlude. It was her favorite song, and always raised her spirits, and could feel her foot tap to the drums that echoed through the song as she played it in her head.

Michelle caught an odd scent and sniffed, trying to determine what it was. It took her a moment, but the smell reminded her of grass. A grassy meadow, after sunrise where morning dew still misted on the grass's blade and the soft dirt of the earth was moist and fresh with life. "Mom must be using a new air freshener. " Michelle smiled, enjoying the smell, "I'll have to steal it off her when I get the chance."

As she continued to have her eyes closed she heard a bird caw from above her. She didn't bother to open her eyes but she quickly assumed it was a crow or something close by her window outside. "It must be heading to its nest I presume; it should be getting dark soon". Although, she did find it odd that it sounded from directly above her, and not from her window, but she didn't trouble herself with the thought, not seeing the big deal of mishearing something. However, one last thing happened that Michelle couldn't ignore that made her open her eyes. She rolled over in her bed, trying to find a more comfy position, and when she rolled over she could no longer feel a mattress below her or a pillow under her head. She rolled back, but still nothing. Instead, she felt herself lying down in what felt like grass, and upon opening her eyes she found herself to be correct. She was laying in a grassy field, with a morning sky above her. "What in the… did I fall asleep?" she wondered out loud, thinking this was a dream. She sat up and examined her surroundings. The only thing she could spot besides grass, grass, and more grass, was a tiny village maybe a football's field away from her. However, the houses were odd looking. The houses were made of wooden boards with what looked like hay for a roof. Something you would see in the medieval ages she figured. But she quickly noticed something else off about the houses, there was smoke rising over them, and she could see the orange tongues of flame feast on a few buildings and slowly spreading to the others.

"F-fire?" she gasped in confusion. She could feel the heat of the flames warm the air and send hot gusts of air towards her. Michelle was beginning to feel afraid, how was it possible that she could feel the heat. None of her dreams had ever felt this real before. She quickly snapped herself out of it though." The people who live in those houses…why are there no people outside trying to put out the fire, or at least screaming…" she wondered. She was about to run for it, before the fire lit the grass and spread to the field she was taking refuge in, however she heard a scream, a faint scream but still a scream, belonging to what sounded like a small child. Michelle quickly turned back to the village, "hang on, I'm coming!" she called and broke into a sprint towards the village.

Michelle had never been near a house fire, the closest fire she had ever been close to was a camp fire on one of her dad's camping trips, and she was not expecting the immense heat that filled the air. "Can anyone hear me!?" Michelle screamed through the village, hoping to see some survivors, but quickly as she looked at the buildings and the ground around them, her blood turned to ice. There were a few villagers littered on the dirt path of the village, their bodies bloodied with deep cuts in the necks, chests, and other places. It definitely was not the work of a simple fire. "Oh my god…" Michelle gasped, holding her mouth in horror and suddenly feeling as if she were going to lose all the food in her stomach. She took a couple steps backwards and turned to run as fast from the village but something blocked her path. It had to be one of the ugliest creatures Michelle had ever laid eyes on. It appeared to be a man, about her height, but his skin was an ugly color of green, like the color of rotten celery or cabbage. His nose was large and crooked and he bore wild red eyes filled with hatred and the lust to kill. His teeth looked crooked and sharpened, as if every tooth was a sharp, pointed canine. His garments were cruel black leather with pieces of fur and cloth sticking out. He had a long, black sword, stained with the villagers' blood which looked even more malicious as the fire light glinted off the blade.

The crazed man gave her a cruel, horrible smiled, and raised his sword, walking towards her with excitement as if the thought of killing her was some sort of strange high. "N-no-Stay away!" she screamed loudly, not having the courage to run and felt frozen to the spot. But he didn't stop, he kept charging towards her, sword gripped tightly in his hand. "Somebody help!" she screamed at the top of her lungs in a panicked and shrill voice.

* * *

Aragorn's POV:

The ranger knew that he had no time to rest; Aragorn was returning from Mirkwood after capturing Gollum and bringing him to the elves to be questioned by Gandalf. After they had learned that Gollum had told the enemy where to look for the ring, Aragorn left immediately to meet Gandalf and the ring bearer in Bree.

Aragorn had left Rivendell early yesterday morning and recognized the area he was in now as being close to the Last Bridge and before long would bring him close to the Shire... He was pleased with himself for making good time. However he knew his horse was beginning to feel fatigue and he decided to rest for a few minutes to let the horse drink from a nearby stream. For himself he decided to take a sip from his canteen and devour an apple he had packed with his food supplies in his pack. The apple had been bitten down to the core in a mere couple of minutes and soon Aragorn was ready to set out once again. The horse had finished drinking and whinnied impatiently to him. As he swung himself on top of the horse he noticed smoke not far from him and saw a small village that was in the process of being enveloped in flames. Aragorn had heard that villages were being overrun with orcs and goblins lately, but this was the first he had witnessed it. He shook his head and bowed it to send a prayer to the villagers, knowing it was already too late. Orcs weren't known for leaving survivors.

He had the horse's reins in his hand, adjusting the pack on his back when he heard a loud scream erupt from the village. "Somebody help me!" a woman's voice screamed, her voice filled with fear. Aragorn, acting quickly and without hesitation, unsheathed his sword and jumped from the horse, sprinting into the village, looking for the owner of the voice. He ran between two buildings and found himself in what appeared to be the main road of the village, a wide dirt path paving the ground that looked well worn. He looked to his left and saw a young woman, the one who most likely was responsible for the scream and was relieved to see she was alright. He ran to her, to shield her from whatever had caused her fear but was too late as he watched in horror as an orc thrust his sword into the woman's abdomen, and she fell to her knees clutching her wound, screaming in pain. Before the orc had a chance to finish the job, Aragorn charged forward, taking the orc by surprise and cut the fiend's head clean off.

Aragorn quickly turned around to inspect the woman and at first was alarmed when he saw he crumpled on the ground, unconscious and unmoving, but he was soon relieved when he saw the faint and slow rise and fall of her chest. However, Aragorn knew he needed to work fast if he were to save this girl. She was losing blood fast and if the bleeding did not stop soon the girl would not make it half an hour. He found the source of the bleeding, a deep cut on the left side of her abdomen, that was spilling too much blood much too fast. He took his dagger and cut part of his undershirt off and tied it tightly around the girl's middle, doing as best as he could to make it a make shift bandage. When he was happy with his work, he picked up the girl and held her tightly in his arms and ran as fast as he could out of the village with her to his horse, without disturbing the wound too greatly.

He rode with her for the rest of the day, holding her in front of him. The girl was not awakening or showing any signs of stirring which worried Aragorn, and he had enough reasons to be worried. Number one, the girl's life; He had never before met the girl, however she was young and still had life in her. As long as she breathed Aragorn would try his best to revive her. But he had other reasons to worry. He needed to get to Bree, and now that would become difficult if he had to carry the unconscious girl. And what if the girl wanted to travel with him? He could not just dump this girl in the middle of nowhere with no means to protect herself or hunt for her own food, and the nearest town was days away. The journey would not be a fast pace with his horse carrying the extra weight. Aragorn found himself frustrated with his predicament but decided the girl's wellbeing came first. Once she awakened, he would think of which course of action to pursue next.

Eventually, Aragorn spotted a stream ahead of them, and with the sun going down he decided to make camp on the edge of the stream. He gently placed her down, and undid the bandage he made for her. The bleeding had stopped to his relief, and he quickly went in search of the Athelas plant with his dagger in hand. He was lucky to find the plant growing not too far away from the campsite, and after cutting the amount he needed, he quickly returned to the girl, who was still lying there motionless. As he bent down he noticed she beginning to feel cold, and her skin was dangerously pale.

"C'mon, hang in there." He said under his breath, putting the Athelas into his mouth and chewing it until it formed a paste. He rubbed the plant into the girl's wound, somewhat glad she was unconscious, because he knew how agonizing the pain would be for her if she were awake.

After he used all of the plant, Aragorn rebandaged her wound and placed his blanket on top of her, hoping it would bring some warmth back into her body. After he had done all he could for the girl, he went back into the woods in search for wood to build a small fire. While he was out he was able to kill a pair of squirrels, and brought them back to camp with him. After he had the fire going, his skinned the squirrels and roasted them over the fire. He gulped the first one down in no time at all, leaving nothing but bones, and decided to save the other squirrel and wrapped the meat in a piece of cloth and tucked it into his pack, saving it for the girl if she woke up during the night, and would eat it for himself if she didn't wake by morning.

As the sun set, he put out the fire and laid back into the grass, his pack as a pillow. He looked over the girl one last time and really took in her features, and noticed she wore strange clothing. He had never seen anything like it, with strange looking fabric and odd bright colors splashed across her top. He wondered to himself where she hailed from. From the clothing on the dead villagers, she wasn't dressed like anyone from the village, nor was she dressed like any other place he had ever been, and Aragorn had been to a lot of places. Besides for the clothes though, she looked perfectly human. Her ears were unpointed and rounded at the top, so she couldn't have been an elf. Her hair was a light auburn, appearing brown unless the sun shone down on her head, making her mid-back length hair appear to be tongues of fire. Her skin looked soft, and unmarked, leaving no flaws on her gentle face, and air slowly came and left her body through her petite nose, and parted red lips. Aragorn smiled as he began to notice color creep back into her face.

He decided not to think about the girl anymore, and closed his eyes feeling sleep pulling at his senses and Aragorn gladly surrendered to its will.

* * *

In the morning, Aragorn blinked his eyes open, remembering yesterday's events and his eyes drifted off to the girl. He was surprised to see she was not in the same position he left her in last night. Her body was now rolled to the side, hugging the blanket tightly and having the edges tucked under her. He saw her breathing was stronger than it was last night and sighed in relief. He went and crouched over her, tugging the blanket off to check on the wound, the girl resisted and tugged back, groaning in annoyance. Aragorn decided a different approach.

"Can you hear me?" He asked the girl gently. She groaned in reply.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, feeling slightly amused.

"Terrible…" she muffled through the blanket, and Aragorn could see her eyebrows crease in pain.

"Lay still, you were attacked yesterday and are badly injured because of it. I was afraid you would never awaken. Let me check the wound for you." Aragorn said gently. The girl nodded and allowed Aragorn to pull off the blanket and remove the bandages he had dressed last night.

"Well it does not look any worse, if it remains like this it should heal fast." He told her as he redressed the bandages across her torso. The girl nodded blankly, staring at the sky. Aragorn felt a little uncomfortable with the silence and could tell something was troubling her. "Are you okay? Are you in a deal of pain or…?" he trailed off; waiting for an answer or hint to what was bothering her.

Her eyes slowly trailed over to meet his, and scanned what he was wearing as if they were foreign clothes. "Where am I?" She asked sadly.

"We are a day away from Rivendell by horse milady." He answered her, he could immediately tell that he had given her the wrong answer and she closed her eyes in sorrow. "Where are you from?" he asked curiously.

"Pennsylvania…America…" she said, hoping her words would rouse recognition in Aragorn but he only gave her an odd glance.

"I have never heard of it." Aragorn replied.

"And I've never heard of this place… look, I was in my bed at home, and then next thing I know I'm lying down in some grass field while a village is burning to the ground. I'm not from here." She cried, tears running down her face.

"I had my suspicions from your clothing. However I cannot possibly imagine where you may have come from. This is Middle Earth."

"I'm not from Middle Earth! I'm from Earth! No middle!" she sobbed. "How am I supposed to go home when I'm in a place I don't know and people here have never even heard of where I came from?" she asked incredulously. Aragorn had no answers to give her.

"I am sorry milady, but I do not have an answer for you." He bowed his head in apologies. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." He introduced himself. "If you truly do come from a different world, you are welcome to travel in my company. There are many evils across Middle Earth, what you glimpsed was just a small example. It would be dangerous if you wandered on your own."

Michelle pondered over his words. She was taught back home, not to trust strangers, but then again, this stranger had saved her life. If he wanted to Kill her, he had his chance while she was unconscious all day yesterday. "I gladly accept your offer." Michelle said, giving him a small smile. "My name's Michelle…err… daughter of Robert…" she said awkwardly, trying to not seem too out of place andintroduced herself as Aragorn did, and she could hear him chuckle.

"Well then, Michelle, daughter of Robert, would you like some breakfast?"

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_So yeah… this is my prologue. I'm prolly gonna upload chapter one after this. Don't you worry Legolas __lovers, he's coming in on chapter 3 and I've already written it, it'll be up by the end of the week. Any __suggestions or corrections or just something nice to say, would be very much loved!_


	2. Chapter 1

_Here's Chapter 1 that I promised. I have chapters 2 and 3 written already but I still need to edit them. I'll probably have the next chapter up in three days. Please correct me if you see any of my information wrong, I've never read the books, only the movie which isn't exactly great at indicating how much time goes past in-between scenes, so besides the movie I have wiki haha. Reviews are loved as long as their nice! And of course, I do not own Lord of the Rings, only my character. Again, it's been awhile since I've even uploaded anything to this site, so I'm getting back into the swing of it. Review and let me know how you like it and what you want to see! I write not only to please myself but also you guys of course :)_

* * *

_I remember you said "Don't leave me here alone."_

_But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

* * *

Months had passed since Michelle had first joined Aragorn on the fateful day she arrived in this new world they called Middle Earth. Since then Aragorn had become somewhat of an older brother and father figure to her. He told her his age of eighty-seven and how he was gifted with long life. Something he called being a Dunadain or something like that. On their long journey to Bree, Michelle would often ask him stories as they sat by a campfire, eating their dinner and watching the stars. He would tell her tales of heroic battles he had fought in, turning the tide of an entire battle. He also told her other tales, tales of king's he had met, and the love he had found in an elven maiden.

"She sounds beautiful." Michelle commented one night as Aragorn was explaining his love, Arwen, to her.

"Her beauty is indeed unmatched." He agreed looking off into the distance, memories of his love dancing through his mind. He didn't talk much for the rest of the night, just staring at nothingness and seeing everything.

Through their months of travel, Aragorn insisted that she learned how to defend herself, warning her that stray orcs were becoming a common thing, so while on their travels they had daily training sessions when passing through foresty regions and came along good, sword-looking sticks. It was hard, Aragorn did not show her much mercy, and she went to bed every night with welts, but it was fun work and kept their journey from becoming boring. The only problem was Michelle still did not have a sword of her own to use in case they were ever actually attacked, so Aragorn agreed to let her hold onto his hunting dagger while they were traveling. He at one point offered Michelle the sword of an orc he had slain, but she refused to wield any weapon forged and used by the hideous creatures, and so she was stuck with the short ranged dagger.

The pair arrived in Bree almost a month ago but still no sign of what Aragorn called "the ring bearer". He didn't go much into detail about him, just that they were looking for a young male hobbit by the name of Frodo who carried a specific ring that was apparently a big deal. She didn't know what a hobbit was either but Aragorn described him as being shorter than normal people, so Michelle figured that's what they called midgets in this world. When they arrived Aragorn had sold their horse to pay for a room at the prancing pony until the ring bearer showed himself. Waiting until a guy showed up though, who for all they knew could have dropped dead on the journey there, was pretty boring. To keep themselves busy, Aragorn and Michelle would go on walks through the forest surrounding Bree, keeping an eye out for any dangers and to keep themselves in shape.

"Catch." Aragorn called to Michelle as he tossed a fallen branch in her direction, the perfect size of a sword. She smiled and caught it easily, twirling it in her hand.

"You sure about this old man?" she teased, knowing that she was still no match him. In reply he swung his own makeshift sword at her and their sparring session begun.

After long months of training Michelle was beginning to show improvement with sword fighting. She was now able to block some of Aragorn's blows and even administer a few counterattacks of her own. Needless to say, by the time they arrived at Bree she was no longer the only one going to sleep with bruises.

Aragorn slashed at her but with Michelle's reflexes on full alert, she was able to raise her stick to defend in time to prevent what would have been a nasty welt on her torso. However this time as he withdrew his branch back to ready to deal another attack, Michelle raised her stick to block what she thought was going to be another slash, which was Aragorn's main attack through their sparring sessions, he brought his stick forward in a thrusting motion instead, and before she had a chance to realize what he was doing, his branch punctured straight into Michelle's lower stomach. It didn't go deep, but deep enough to bring back unpleasant memories and bringing her to her knees in pain.

"I'm sorry; I did not mean to put that much force into the attack." Aragorn apologized checking the wound he had caused to her. "It looks like it is not too serious." He said, after brushing away a few droplets of blood. "No, it does not seem to require any bandaging. However, I used that attack for a reason, I wanted to see your reaction, and it was the reaction I feared. You cannot freeze with fear every time someone draws back their sword back. I will teach you how to defend against it but it will be for nothing until you overcome your fear."

"I know…I know…" Michelle said, regaining her breath while memories of the cursed orc who had stabbed her still haunting her thoughts. The wound she had received those months ago had healed without any complications thanks to Aragorn, and all she had left was a dark, unattractive scar on her torso, an ever reminder of the harshness of this world, and how literally any day could be your last.

"Good." He approved of her answer. "Now are you alright?" he asked, giving the wound another look over, debating whether or not to bandage it.

"No, really I'm fine. It just stings a little that's all. You overdid it a bit." She teased, standing up and brushed the dirt off herself. "Mostly I was just caught off guard, but you're right. I can't afford to react like that again." She agreed. Aragorn nodded; obviously satisfied that she saw where he was coming from. The two of them hiked back towards Bree in silence as they were left to their own private thoughts.

Michelle was unsure of how long she had been a resident in Middle Earth now. She knew it had been more than a couple weeks, but was fairly positive it had been less than six months. Middle Earth used the same calendar scheme as Earth, and knew she had arrived in early May, the end of spring and by the weather they had witnessed they were just going into Fall. She missed home sometimes, the things she took for granted like music and electricity, but not as much as she originally thought she would have. Sure, she missed her brothers, and her home, and the city she lived in, and her bed...especially her bed, but at the same time, she didn't mind this new world. Sure, it was a lot harder than Earth, you didn't have other people or machines to do your work for you and she couldn't just go to the store to get food, but that was okay with her. Aragorn was a good companion, he knew she had never and would never hunt an animal in her life, so he took care of providing food. Without him, Michelle would have surely starved, but her thanks went deeper than that to him. He kept her sane, providing her company when she wanted to talk. He didn't reply back to her with much, but that was okay with Michelle, because for the most part she didn't talk much either. Usually the only topics he kept alive were their conversations about the different customs of Middle Earth. Sometimes Michelle would keep him up for hours, bugging him with curious questions and he knew she wouldn't let him sleep until he answered them. There were some questions though he wouldn't answer for her, like why the ring the hobbit carried was so important. He told her that he would tell her in time, once she grew more accustomed to the world, and he was keeping the information from her for her own protection. It annoyed her, but she stopped asking about it. At the end of the day though, Aragorn was her guide, mentor, and most importantly, her friend.

They didn't talk about her home world much. At first, Aragorn would ask her about it, what it was like, her family, but for the most part she had more bad memories than good, and after seeing the topic usually brought her into a spout of depression, he avoided the topic unless she brought it up. Every now and then she would, but it was pretty rare. Once when they passed a corn field she would tell Aragorn how she remembered always going to the farmers market in her town, and how it had the most delicious corn she had ever tasted. Aragorn gave her a puzzled look and asked her what a farmer's market was, which turned into their conversation for the day.

As they were getting close to the town entrance Michelle got a cold feeling in her stomach, a feeling of dread as if something were, or about to go wrong. She stopped walking and looked back into the deeps of the forest where they had just come from, staring off as if looking at something but not sure what to make it out as.

"Michelle? What is it?" Aragorn asked, standing a few feet ahead of her, giving her a worried glance.

"I-I just thought I saw something move…" She said quietly, afraid to speak too loud. She thought she had seen a horse for a second. A jet black horse with a rider dressed in a black cloak. She told Aragorn this.

"Let's go." He said, suddenly urgent sprinting off towards town.

"Aragorn! Wait!" she called suddenly afraid. She wasn't a good sprinter and began to feel panicked as Aragorn was getting further and further ahead of her the more she tried desperately to keep up with him.

"Hurry, run!" he shouted back, not slowing down. Michelle felt chills tingle up her spine as she pursued after Aragorn, the walls of Bree were now in sight ahead of them. He had almost reached them, but Michelle was still about fifty yards behind. Suddenly an ear splitting sound erupted somewhere behind her, nearly causing her to stumble over her own feet. It was like a scream, but didn't sound human in the slightest. It sounded like a scream that only something purely evil can make, full of malice and sending chills through every part of the body. Michelle's blood turned ice cold as Aragorn looked desperately back at her as he held open the gate. "C'mon! You're almost here!" he shouted encouragingly, with desperation creeping into his voice. Michelle swore she heard the sound of hooves pounding behind her and she ran faster than a fat man at an all you can eat buffet. She practically flew through the gate, giving a crashing tackle that a football coach would be proud of, gasping for breath with her head in the dirt. Her entire body was shaking and she wasn't sure if she was about to pass out or throw up or both.

"W-wh-what j-j-just h-happ-pened." She stuttered trying to calm herself as Aragorn came over and picked her up back on her feet, keeping his hands on her shoulders until her legs stopped wobbling.

"The Nazguls… agents of Sauron that hunt for the one ring." Aragorn said darkly. "The ring bearer will be here soon, and he brought company."

After settling down and put the terrifying event behind her, they entered the Inn, and the two of them took their usual seats in the back corner of the bar. Michelle didn't like most of the people there; they were loud and rude and were the most fouling smelling men. Aragorn told her it would probably be best if she kept a low profile and a cloak around her, hiding her head. He was afraid what would happen if all the drunken men noticed a young woman enter their bar and he was in no hurry to find out.

Michelle stared blankly out of the window, it had started drizzling no less than twenty minutes ago when they had first entered the bar and now it was pouring harder than she had ever seen rain pour.

"Are most of your rains this heavy?" Michelle asked Aragorn trying to make conversation.

"Not most of them I suppose, they get this bad from time to time." He shrugged, not giving her much, or anything to reply to. Apparently Aragorn wasn't in the mood to talk tonight. She sent him a quick annoyed glance and returned to looking out of the window to watch the rain again. Michelle was beyond bored and Aragorn wasn't helping in the slightest.

"Can I go outside?" she asked suddenly. Aragorn looked back at her with a baffled look.

"Why would you want to do that?" he asked perplexed.

"I don't know, just to feel the rain I guess." She shrugged. She could tell by his disapproving look that he was about to say no. "Please Aragorn; I'm bored out of mind. I'll only be a second and I'll be right by the door so if anything happens I'll be able to scream for you." She said, trying to convince him and giving him the cute puppy eyes like she used to give her mom when she needed some money.

Aragorn sighed succumbing to her wishes. "Very well, but do not be gone for too long." Michelle's face brightened like a light bulb.

"Thank you and I won't be!" She promised. It surprised her how much her speech was changing. She used to be laid back and relax, saying things like "Awesome" and cursing in every other sentence. Nowadays she felt her tongue slowly starting to speak more formerly, especially to strangers. The only person to hear her "earth" talk was Aragorn, which he disapproved of when they were in public, not wanting unwanted attention on them.

Michelle stood up; pulling the cloak that Aragorn had gifted her closely around her small body, hiding her face and clothing. She still did not own any clothing from this world, forcing her to stay in her foreign ones; another reason why Aragorn bought her the cloak. Aragorn said it was important for them to remain as unnoticeable as possible.

As she walked around the bar, towards the door she noticed four small men at the counter, not even big enough to be able to see above it. At first she thought they were children, but suddenly she realized she was mistaken. Their faces were those of men, and they all had large, thick feet and no shoes. Michelle thought of the Hobbits they were waiting for and inconspicuously eavesdropped on their conversation with the bartender as she walked by.

"We're friends of Gandalf the Grey; can you tell him we've arrived?" The one in the front asked the barkeeper. He was small, like the other three, with a head of curly auburn hair and bright blue eyes.

'_Gandalf?_' she thought to herself, remembering the name and how Aragorn had told her about his friend Gandalf, and how we were supposed to meet him and the ring bearer here. '_This must be the Ring Bearer!_' she realized, hanging by the door, continuing to listen.

"Gandalf?" the bartender asked, confused, as if trying to remember where he had heard that name before. "Gandalf…Ohhh yes, I remember. Elderly chap, big grey beard, pointy hat." He smiled, nodding his head as he remembered, then shook his head. "Not seen him for six months."

The smile on the little man's face dropped as he looked at his friend's in disappointment. "What do we do now?" one of the other short men asked.

Hearing enough, Michelle quickly turned around, back towards Aragorn to tell him what she had heard.

"I watched you; you did not even go outside." He said perplexed as she hurriedly took the seat next to him and ducked her head down close to the table. After giving her another confused stare she sighed impatiently and grabbed him by the back of the head, forcing his head down low to the table next to hers.

"Listen up, I got gossip." She whispered to Aragorn. He looked as if he were going to ask what 'gossip' meant, but decided better of it.

"What did you hear?" he whispered back, glancing up a few times, making sure no one was nearby, wanting to keep their conversation private.

"There are four small men that just walked in, and they looked like the hobbits you described." Michelle told him.

The pair looked up to see the hobbits sit an empty table, full mugs of ale splashing as they set them down.

"They are definitely Hobbits, I am unsure if they are the hobbits we are searching for though."

"That's the other thing, they know Gandalf. They were asking about him to the barkeeper." She explained. Aragorn nodded his head.

"It seems then, that we have found our ring bearer."

"Yeah, but how do we know which one?" she asked, glancing back over to the four of them, one of them, the one who had asked "what now" caught them staring causing Michelle to quickly look back down at the table. Aragorn however did not break his stare.

"Let us watch from a distance and find out." He said simply. Michelle felt weird, just staring at four people she had never met, so every couple of seconds she glanced up until the hobbit met her eyes, and she quickly looked back down. Aragorn however, seemed to only be focused on one as he slowly smoked from his pipe. He stared at the one with auburn hair and held that stare for a long time, making Michelle wonder if he was even blinking. Michelle saw the blond one lean towards the one with auburn hair and whisper something to him. Slowly the auburn-haired hobbit cast a suspicious glance in their direction.

The hobbit called over the barkeeper and seemed to ask him a question and both of them sent looks over at the pair in the corner. "Seems like we're getting some attention…" she whispered to Aragorn, though he still said nothing as he continued to smoke his pipe.

For the most part that was the most interaction they had with the hobbit. They continued to stare him down, Aragorn more than Michelle, but they were ignored. After a couple minutes, Michelle was once again bored.

"I don't get it, why don't we just talk to him instead of making him feel uncomfortable?" Michelle asked, drumming her fingers on the table.

"We wait." Is all that Aragorn said, causing Michelle to huff in Agitation and boredom. She spotted quick movement in the corner of her eye though and saw that the auburn-hobbit had jumped out of his seat in the direction towards another hobbit that had a lot of attention at the bar.

"Pippin!" the hobbit cried to his friend and could be heard around the bar as the commotion started. Michelle watched with interested eyes along with Aragorn as he slowly withdrew the pipe from his mouth.

The hobbit spilled his drink all over the ground as the result of the auburn haired hobbit tugging on his arm. Michelle saw as the hobbit lost his traction on the now wet, wooden floor, slipping backwards. However a gold glint caught her eye. As the hobbit fell, a gold ring he was holding in his hand flew up into the air. Aragorn's eyes saw it too, and she could see Aragorn jump a little in his seat as if he had seen the ring somewhere before.

The ring fell down back towards the hobbit and as he tried to reach out and grasp it, the ring slid around his index finger and suddenly as if it were a magic trick, the hobbit vanished.

"Huh?" Michelle gasped out loud, looking for the hobbit. She quickly put two and two together and realized that must have been the ring Aragorn had been going on about for the last couple of months. "Aragorn?" she asked in a worried voice, as the man quickly stood up and walked across the around where the hobbit had been moments before. "Wait for me!" She called, jumping up and followed like a shadow behind him. She witnessed the hobbit reappear a couple feet in front of them out of nowhere, and saw him give a sigh of relief, as if he had been released from death's grip. However that was short lived as Aragorn grabbed and picked him by the shoulder, shoving him upstairs towards the rooms. Michelle felt a little worried with Aragorn's behavior, but she trusted that he wouldn't hurt the hobbit, so keeping her mouth shut, she quickly ran up the stairs, trying to keep up with him.

"You draw far too much attention to yourself, Mister Underhill." She heard Aragorn whisper harshly, pinning the hobbit against the wall. From there he pushed the hobbit the rest of the way up the stairs and into the room she and Aragorn had rented. Before Michelle had a chance to follow Aragorn slammed the door behind him and in Michelle's face, but instead of taking the hint that Aragorn wanted to interrogate the hobbit alone, she poked her head inside and crept in, closing the door behind him.

"Well that was rude." She said to him as she strided over to the bed, sitting cross legged and watching him and the hobbit with interest. "Please continue, pretend I'm not here." Aragorn shot her an annoyed look, but ignored her. She had never seen Aragorn act like this and wanted to observe as much as she could in case she ever witnessed him like this again.

"What do you want?" the hobbit asked intimidated.

"A little more caution from you. That is no trinket you carry."

"I carry nothing." The hobbit said defensively, but Michelle could tell he was obviously lying.

"Indeed." Said Aragorn skeptically as he extinguished the candles in the room, the only light they had now coming from the moonlight shining through the window. "I can avoid being seen if I wish, but to disappear entirely, that is a rare gift." He said, looking back to the hobbit and pulling the hood of his cloak off showing the hobbit he shaggy dark brown hair and stubble of a growing beard.

The hobbit seemed at a loss for words. "Who are you?" the hobbit asked.

"Are you frightened?" Aragorn asked, ignoring his question.

"Yes." The hobbit replied, hesitating only a moment. Michelle thought Aragorn was going a bit too far, but she guessed this was just his own way of trying to make the hobbit realize the severity of his situation that only Aragorn himself knew the full details of, refusing to share them with anyone.

"Not nearly frightened enough, I know what hunts you." He said, and Michelle received chills remembering their experience from earlier today. She knew she had not seen the last of them with this hobbit being around them.

Suddenly there was trampling outside the door which was suddenly burst wide open. Michelle let out a scream of fear, afraid she would see the Nazguls from before, and Aragorn quickly withdrew his sword, standing protectively in front of her and hobbit. However he quickly dropped it to his side when he saw it was only the other three hobbits, carrying a candlestick, table, and the leader, the blonde one, shaking his fists screaming "Let him go or I'll have you on shanks."

Aragorn looked at the three new hobbits, and she swore she saw some amusement in his eyes as he sheathed his sword. "You have a stout heart little hobbit." He said, giving a rare compliment, surprising Michelle with the sudden change in behavior. "But that will not save you, you no longer wait for the wizard Frodo, they're coming." Aragorn warned, quickly leading them from the room. Michelle hurriedly ran from the bed and caught up with her friend and walked by his side as they left the Inn and crossed the street into the other inn, the prancing ponies rival in business.

They rented a room with one large king sized bed that the hobbits would share while Aragorn sat in a chair overlooking the outside of the one window the room had. The hobbits offered Michelle a spot next to them, but could feel herself shaking with just the thought of those wraiths returning and decided just to roll out her blanket on the floor next to Aragorn and lay down in a tiny ball like a cat. Aragorn noticed her shaking and pulled off his cloak to wrap it around her shoulders, hoping to provide her with some comfort. She sat up, leaning up against his chair, resting her head on her knees which she hugged. After what felt like hours with suspense and just sitting there on the floor, she felt herself drift off to an uneasy and uncomfortable sleep against his chair.

It seemed like she was asleep for only a second when she heard the screams again. Not the screams of people, but of those wraiths, and she woke up fast with a fresh new wave of fear. She jumped up to gaze through the window and saw the shadows of the wraiths in the room they had been in not too long ago. Michelle's breathing became labored and felt goose bumps breakout across her skin. Aragorn pulled her back down to where she had been sitting and slowly patted her head in comfort.

"They won't find us. Not tonight." He told her, continuing to stare at the sight. Michelle could hear the horses below in the streets whinny into the dark night, the noise echoing through the deserted street. Michelle felt the urge to cry. "Why me?" she whimpered.

"Do not go having those thoughts." Aragorn warned her, looking away from the window for a moment, and to meet her eyes. "Do not let them possess fear over you; if you do then you have already lost."

"I can't help it…" she muttered, staring into the floor.

"You can though. You are stronger than that. I have taught you enough that you should be able to defend yourself against them."

"Could you defeat them?" she asked.

"No. As far as I know they cannot be defeated, only wounded." He replied darkly. By now the screams had woken up the hobbits as they sat straight up on the bed, not a single trace of sleep on their faces, they were only painted with fear except for Frodo, who had never even tried to sleep, just sat there on the edge of the bed, listening to their conversation.

"What are they?" Frodo asked, she could tell he was afraid but he hid it well. Another ring wraith screamed.

"They were once men." Aragorn said sadly, starting his tale. "Great Kings of Men. And then Sauron the deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one they had fallen into darkness and now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgul, Ring Wraiths. Neither living nor are dead. At all times they feel the presence of the ring, drawn to the power of the one… they will never stop hunting you."

The room was quiet for a while after Aragorn finished talking, and Michelle felt she was forced to break the silence. "Well… that was depressing… now what?" she asked him in a hushed tone trying to lighten her mood with sarcasm and humor. She stood next to Aragorn and leaned against his chair. "We obviously can't stay here for much longer."

"Now, we bring them to Rivendell. We should be safe from them once we reach elven ground. It is too holy for them to enter." He replied. Michelle nodded.

"What is troubling you?" he asked her, noticing worry across her face, but was fairly certain he knew the answer.

"We haven't seen the last of them…" She didn't phrase it as a question.

"I would be surprised if we have." Aragorn agreed. "Do not lose sleep over it, if we run across them in our travels I will hold them off while the rest of you escape."

"I can't let you do that." Michelle gasped in horror at the idea.

"I must ensure the ring bearer gets to Rivendell. If I must die to make that happen then so I shall." He replied.

"Then I'll fight with you." She argued.

"No. You are not ready to face them yet. If you tried to fend them off you would surely die and it would be a waste." He stated.

"But you said earlier I could protect myself against them." She contradicted.

"Defend against a couple of blows and give yourself time to escape, I think yes. However fending them off for the sake of others to escape. There is a difference. Now get some sleep, we leave tomorrow and we travel by foot."

Michelle groaned in protest which made Aragorn smile a little bit to know that she was feeling back to her normal self. After a couple illegible mumbles she agreed to sleep and lay at the foot of the hobbits bed, curled in a ball with the blanket covering her.


	3. Chapter 2

_Hey guys! Here's Chapter 2 as I promised. Chapter 3 is already uploaded onto the site but I'm going to make you wait cause I'm evil ;) haha, nah, I just believe in moderation, so I'll upload it in a couple days, and Michelle will finally meet Legolas, I swear! haha, if you want to see anything happen, any plot twists, or anything, or if you see a mistake, maybe a grammar mistake, or something that contradicts with the movies or books, let me know. I'm trying to be as realistic as possible with this. Also, thank you for all of the fantastic reviews! You have no idea how happy they made me that people are enjoying this story. A special thanks to PurpleRainClouds9x, for helping me with grammar mistakes I made in the prologue, thank you for helping me make this story even better. Remember to review! And keep it nice of course! If you don't like my writing, I'm not forcing you to read this._

* * *

_Just close your eyes, the sun is going down._

_You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now._

* * *

In the morning when Aragorn woke her up, she felt stiff and dazed. She definitely did not get enough sleep last night, or a comfortable one at that and was not looking forward to today's travels at all.

"How long is this trip going to take?" Michelle asked Aragorn, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"A week, maybe two." Aragorn replied, taking the blanket she used and rolled it up neatly so it could be strapped to the back of his back pack.

"I wasn't done with that." Michelle complained, sending him a glare.

"I think you were." Aragorn disagreed, a grin finding its way on his face, which in turn made Michelle laugh.

"You're an ass." She said, standing up and stretching. She helped Aragorn wake the hobbits up and went downstairs into the bar for breakfast.

"Yum. Bar food." Michelle said sarcastically. "I just realized I never got your names." Michelle said to the hobbits, while stabbing some sausage with her fork. "I'm Michelle and this is Aragorn."

"I'm Frodo. This is Sam, Merry, and Pippin." Introduced Frodo, gesturing to each of his friends.

"Nice to meet you." Michelle smiled happily. At least the hobbit's looked like they were beginning to forgive them about last night. She could tell they were still suspicious of them, but it's not like they had any choice other than to trust them.

"Like wise." Frodo nodded along with the other hobbits. Aragorn remained silent as usual.

Once they all finished the last of their breakfast, they returned to their room to grab their packs, paid the bartender for the room, and exited into the streets of Bree.

They're journey started not long afterwards. Aragorn bought a pony to carry their packs and supplies; however he refused Michelle's request when she asked if she could ride him. If the rest of them had to walk, so did she. She stuck his tongue out of Aragorn but didn't say anything else on the subject, seeing it would be a lost cause.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Frodo asked as they left the walls of Bree, which was pretty easy once they discovered the entire gate had been kicked down.

"He saved my life a couple of months ago from an orc, and we've been traveling ever since." Michelle explained. "Since then he's kind of filled the role of a father you could say."

"How fortunate of me." Aragorn said coming up with the pony to take the lead. He grinned over at Michelle to show he was only teasing and continued on leading them through the wilderness.

"Where are you taking us?" Frodo asked

"Into the wild." Was all Aragorn replied.

As we walked on they heard Merry whisper to Frodo, "How do we know these two are friends of Gandalf?"

"I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer, and feel fouler." Frodo replied to his friend.

"He's foul enough." Merry commented, and Michelle had to stop herself from chuckling. '_Good ol' Aragorn_'. When she saw Aragorn give a look of distaste at the hobbit's comment she couldn't help chuckling. "If you lighten up a bit they wouldn't think that." She whispered cheekily. In return for the suggestion he pushed her in front of a tree.

"That was a very foul thing to do." Michelle said, laughing some more as she picked on him, but he ignored her. Aragorn was being grumpy but to Michelle that was one of the best times to tease Aragorn.

"We have no choice but to trust them." Frodo said in finality, he was obviously the leader in the group of hobbits Michelle noticed. Merry huffed in frustration but dropped the subject.

"But where is he leading us?" Sam asked, desperate for some answers.

"To Rivendell Master Gamgee." Aragorn called back, "To the house of Elrond."

"Did you hear that? Rivendell. We're going to see the elves!" Sam exclaimed, sounding very excited.

"Did he say elves?" Michelle asked curiously. Ever since she heard of elves existence in this world she had been excited to have the chance to meet one.

"My apologies, I forgot you have yet to see an elf. They are graceful, beautiful creatures. Rivendell is the home of the elf woman I told you about." Aragorn said to her as the two friends discussed at the front of the group, out of the earshot of the hobbits who seemed engrossed in their own conversation.

"I see someone must be excited then." Michelle winked. Aragorn looked like he was going to push her into another tree, but he decided better of it and instead nodded.

"What of you? Are you feeling excited?" he asked curiously.

"A little bit." Michelle smiled. "They sound to my liking. I have to ask though, how many races are there?" she asked.

"The main ones are Man, Dwarven, and Elven. There are also Hobbits, as you've met, and Wizards.

"I see…"she said "And what of you?" she asked, "You told me your age, you're no normal man."

"No, I'm of a dying race, the Dunadain. I've discussed this with you already."

"Yeah, yeah I know. I'm just trying to get my facts straight." She said, kicking a rock along in front of her.

The rest of the day passed in mostly silence. Sometimes the two Hobbits, Merry and Pippin would tell her stories that would make her laugh, but besides that everyone just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

* * *

"How do you do this all the time?" Michelle complained on the second day. Sure, she and Aragorn went on hikes around Bree every couple of days, but never back to back days, and never all day. To give her something to occupy her, Aragorn would occasionally throw her a stick and they would spar while walking. It was pretty fun, most of the time they sparred they were standing still, but this time he taught her how to fight while running and half of the battle she was laughing at how funny Aragorn looked spinning to dodge, parry, and attack, but he quickly got a whack in on her whenever that happened and he would scold her for not paying attention.

On the second night, Michelle rolled constantly in the little sleep she received. She kept having the same nightmare, over and over again. And this wasn't the first night she'd had it either. It had been plaguing her dreams for the last month, but this time was the most realistic, it was like she was living it over. It was her first day in Middle Earth all over again. The scream of the child she heard, the scream that lured her into that village. She dreamed she found the child, burning in a house, pieces of the walls and ceiling falling around her in fiery strips, burning her. The child was screaming for help, but Michelle couldn't reach her. There was a log from the house that had fallen over and caught fire, blocking Michelle from entering the house and saving the girl. All she could do was watch, as the girl screamed in pain as fire fell around her, and eventually the house would collapse, the screams finally silenced. Sometimes this was where Michelle woke up, but not tonight. Tonight, her nightmare wasn't through with her yet. She turned around in horror, horror that she had watched that little girl die, and did not even try to help. When she looked away from the house, she saw the orc. The orc who had nearly ended her life. She found herself screaming the same words she had when it actually happened. "Stay away from me!" She cried, backing away. Her legs gave out on her and she stumbled to the ground. "Somebody help me!" she would scream as the sword pierced through her skin. Tonight, Michelle woke up screaming, as if she could actually feel scar reopening.

"Michelle! Michelle wake up!" A voice called, saving her from the hellish nightmare. She heard the voice and focused on it. The dream ended and soon she was in reality, on the forest floor and small pieces of snow fell from the sky.

Michelle gasped for air, feeling breathless and shaking, from fear and from cold. Her voice was hoarse and she could feel tears streaming from her face. Michelle had taken a psychology class in her high school year, and she was afraid she was showing symptoms of PTSD.

"What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?" Aragorn asked urgently, kneeling next to her, putting an arm under her back and lifted her head into his lap. His eyes searched over her, trying to figure out what the problem was.

"I'm f-fine." Michelle stuttered, taking deep breaths and trying to focus on anything besides her dream. She tried to subdue the hiccups that had come up, but it was to no avail, it took her forever to get rid of them.

"That." He said putting emphasis on the word "Was not fine."

"Just a nightmare." Michelle assured him. She was actually thankful it was snowing, the cold air helped to erase the final threads of sleep that had wrapped around her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned. Michelle shook her head.

"It's nothing to bother you with." She said.

"Well then, let's talk about something else, anything else. I realize how much of a change it must be, leaving behind a way of life for a new one, not a change you can get used to after just a mere couple of months. I have been neglectant to that, and you have had a lot to bear on your shoulders over the last couple of months. I apologize for pushing this aside."

"No…no don't apologize." Michelle said shaking her head. "You've been wonderful, really. I meant it when I said you were like my new dad." She said, and then sighed. "My nightmare was of my first day here. I never told you this, but the only reason I even went in that village was because I heard a scream, and it sounded like a small child. In my dream, I found the girl, but I wasn't able to rescue her from the fire that ensnared her house. And then after I watched the little girl perish in flames, the orc entered my dream, and relived that terrifying moment of when I was stabbed all over again.

"That is a dream that would bring the strongest of men to their knees." He said somberly. "Was this the first time you have had this dream?" he asked.

"No, I've been having it for a while. Sometimes it ends when the girl dies, other it plays off until I get stabbed…" she said quietly. She felt Aragorn rub her shoulder comfortingly

"I wish I knew what to say. Or what to do… but once again I don't have the answer."

"I know…Don't worry about me Aragorn, I'll be fine." Michelle said, looking to him.

"I know you will." He agreed. "Do you wish to continue talking?"

"I want to go to sleep… but I could never fall asleep after a nightmare." She said glumly.

"I've noticed my stories usually put you to sleep, would you like to hear one of them?'

"Like a bed time story?" Michelle asked skeptically, chuckling a little bit until she saw Aragorn was serious. "Yeah…actually. That'd be nice." She smiled.

So Aragorn told her one of his stories, this one about how he had captured the creature Gollum and brought him back to Mirkwood before the King and Gandalf. "I was escorted to the king of Mirkwood by his son, the prince-"

"Hold up, are you sure this story's real?" Michelle asked, giving him another skeptical look.

"What would make you think it is not?" Aragorn asked seriously.

"I dunno… meeting the King, being escorted by a prince, all elves by the way. It just seems like one of those fairytale stories." She mumbled. Aragorn laughed and patted her head.

"I assure you that I am being truthful." Aragorn said chuckling; patting her like a father would his kid. He stared off into the distance, looking something unseen. "Perhaps you will experience your own fairytale in the journey ahead." He said, not really to her but at no one.

She was confused by that, as far as she knew they were only going to Rivendell. That didn't seem like much of a journey. But she didn't question him. Aragorn always got so sad all of the time, and he had just sunken back into one of his moods.

"Good night Michelle." He said half-heartedly, ruffling her hair and walking back to the other side of the camp.

"Good night." She whispered back, sad that she never got to hear the end of his story.

On the third morning they all devoured a quick breakfast, some bacon and sausage. Aragorn was in a rush as usual so Michelle ended up nearly choking trying to swallow all the food so quickly. If she had died then Aragorn really would have been upset. Not at the fact that she died, but at the fact of burying her would be a real hindrance to the pace he was trying to keep. That is if he even had a proper burial for her, for all she knew he might just cast her over a cliff and keep moving. She promised herself she would haunt Aragorn as a spirit until he would climb down the cliff and bury her right.

Michelle pulled her cloak close around her; the crisp cold air blew right through her small body, chilling her to the bone. The only shoes she had were her flip-flops from her old world, which proved problematic with a thin crust of snow on the ground. Aragorn solved this problem by using some spare fabric and tying it around each foot. It wasn't perfect, but it was a whole lot better than nothing.

About an hour into walking, Aragorn and Michelle noticed that the Hobbits had stopped following them, and seemed to be fishing their cooking gear out from the bags on the pony.

"Gentlemen." Aragorn said looking back to them, "We do not stop til nightfall."

"What about breakfast?" Pippin asked.

Aragorn looked perplexed for a moment. "You've already had it."

Pippin gave him a look as if Aragorn had just asked "What's breakfast." "We've had one yes, what about second breakfast?"

Aragorn gave the group one last disturbed look and then continued walking up and down around a hill in front of them. For Aragorn's sake Michelle had to fight back the urge to fall over laughing. After she sustained herself, she skipped along after Aragorn.

As they walked down the hill, out of sight of the Hobbits, she noticed an apple tree growing ahead of them. "Aragorn," she said, bringing her friend to a stop to look back at her. "How good of a throwing arm do you have?" she asked.

He caught onto her idea and the pair of them each grabbed an apple. Michelle threw the first one, it wasn't a very strong throw, and Merry caught pretty easily. Aragorn's however hit Pippin right in the forehead before he could even see it and Michelle couldn't hold back her laughter as she fell to her knees. She was happy and surprised to see even Aragorn laughed pretty hearty to that before pulling them along. Their spirits stayed high for the rest of the day, and even into the night as well. Aragorn wasn't grumpy and no one really complained about the walk, and the day was filled with more pranks and laughs.

On the next morning though, their spirits were dampened, literally, as they went from foresty-grassland, into the swamps. The group was miserable, with mosquitos and other weird insects bit them and did annoying buzzes in their ears, and sloppy brown water soaking them to the bone.

"Aragorn!" Michelle yelled over the sound of the insects. "If I don't kill myself by the end of this trip I'm going to kill you!" Michelle said, aggravated and scared for her life. One of her biggest fears in her old world was bugs and being surrounded by them did not put her in a good situation.

"C'mon, keep moving." He yelled back, in no mood for jokes once again, and then again at this point none of them really were. Michelle let out a squeak as she tripped in the marshy water and got covered in the disgusting murky water.

"You've gotta be kidding me." She whined trying to stand up but failed and wound up back into the water face first, swallowing a mouthful and nearly gagging. She felt a hand pull on the back of her cloak and quickly she was lifted up and placed back on her feet.

"It would be unfortunate if you drowned in less than two feet of water." Aragorn said making sure she had her balance back before letting Michelle go.

"I still hate you right now." Michelle said, which only made Aragorn chuckle as he made his way back into the front of the group.

"What do they eat when they can't get hobbit?" Merry asked frustrated, killing another bug on his cheek.

They didn't get through the marshes by the end of the day but at least the bugs went away after the sun set. Aragorn went off for an hour to hunt, and Michelle was left alone with the hobbits. She sat off by herself on a pile of rocks, looking into the sky, thinking of all of her memories she made since she came to this world. She remembered how she and Aragorn would fall asleep under the sky every night until they got to Bree. In a way, she missed it. Looking up at all the stars, no city lights to hide they're beauty; there was something about it that was calming and relaxing and could make any bad situation a good one.

"Michelle, why don't you join us?" Pippin called over from the circle the hobbits had made a little ways away. She was surprised by the offer, ever since they began the journey they had not had much interaction, but seeing the hobbits, who she thought didn't like her, reaching out and inviting her to join them, made her feel more welcome.

"You sure?" Michelle asked, sliding off the rock.

"Of course! Welcome, welcome!" Merry said eagerly and she took a seat in-between Frodo and Pippin.

Michelle listened to their conversation and laughed at how funny Merry and Pippin turned out to be. Soon she was even able to add to their conversation, even if they did think some of her words were a bit off.

"Why do you speak so strangely?" Frodo asked after Merry and Pippin finished their story about how they set off a dragon firework at Frodo's Uncle's Birthday Party.

"Huh? Oh, I guess I do don't I?" she said awkwardly. She quickly racked her brain for an excuse to explain her odd ways, and garment, but she had none. She looked into their faces and realized they were nothing but nice and good people, so she might as well give them the truth.

"I'm not from around here… and when I say here, I don't mean like here, here. I mean Middle Earth here." She explained to them how she had been lying down in Earth one moment, and then in Middle Earth the next. "That's why you might hear me say something odd, and why I wear these clothes." Michelle explained.

"That does not sound possible, but that does not mean it is not true." Sam said. "So, are you trying to find a way back?"

"Well… actually no… so far I haven't really looked into how to get back. I'm just helping Aragorn out really." She said, scratching the back of her head nervously. She guessed it was odd, how she wasn't really trying to get home, but at the same time, for her, there wasn't much to miss. "Maybe, I was meant to come here… maybe there was nothing more I could do in my world, and was summoned here because somehow I could be some sort of help… that's what I've been telling myself anyway."

"I would say it is a possibility, but in these matters I am unsure of what is possible and what is not." Frodo commented. Michelle nodded her head, agreeing with the hobbit.

Michelle heard footsteps behind her and lay back onto to the ground to see Aragorn returning with a doe. Her mouth watered at the thought of meat. "How long will that take to make?" she asked her friend, her stomach rumbling and impatient.

"Well, I must skin it, and gut it, and fry it, so however long that takes." Aragorn replied.

"Wow, you are so helpful." Michelle said in mock sincerity, making Aragorn grin a little.

Michelle slept well that night, no nightmares drifted through her head for the first time in a while. Aragorn woke them up at the break of dawn again and after breakfast, they were once again on the move.

Michelle was beginning to feel less exhausted from the journey. She would feel less fatigued at the end of the day, and she was finding herself less and less out of breath.

"I see you are faring better than you were just a few days ago." Aragorn commented as she joined him at the head of the group.

"Are you waiting for an 'I told you so'? Because if you are, I can guarantee you now that you're not going to get it out of me." She smiled.

"No, I suppose I won't, now will I? I forgot for a moment how stubborn you are about those kinds of things." He chuckled.

"So… are we getting close? I'm anxious to see this Rivendell you spoke so highly of." She grinned, walking backwards to face him.

"At this pace, we'll be there in a weeks' time." Replied Aragorn.

"That's not terrible." She shrugged.

The two walked together in silence for the most of what remained of the day. A little before what would have been dinner time, Aragorn stopped walking to look at what appeared to be some kind of old tower.

"This was the great watch tower of Amon Sûl" Something Michelle couldn't understand.

"The what?" Michelle asked, puzzled.

"Otherwise known as Weathertop, I said the name in Elvish." Aragorn explained. "We shall rest here tonight."

They climbed the watch tower until they found a small cove that dug into the structure that would protect them from the elements. The hobbits were out of breath from the climb and collapsed to the ground, and Michelle was surprised to see that she was a little fatigued from the climb, but for the most part she wasn't too exhausted.

As everyone settled down, Aragorn unrolled some leather revealing five short swords. "These are for you." He said, tossing a sword to Merry, and handing another to Michelle.

"You couldn't have given this to me earlier?" she laughed, unsheathing the sword and looking at the blade. "Thank you though." She said sincerely, and handed him back the dagger she had let him borrow. Aragorn nodded his thanks and looked to the hobbits.

"Keep them close, I'm going to have a look around." Aragorn stood up to leave.

"This late?" Michelle asked worriedly. Aragorn gave her a stern look.

"Stay here." He said and he took his leave.

Michelle sighed, feeling oddly vulnerable being able to see so much, she could tell it would be a long way down if she slipped in their little cove. A wave of exhaustion suddenly crashed over her, so after a nod to the hobbits, she unrolled her bedroll, and tucked herself under her cloak and blanket.

"Sleeping already Michelle?" Pippin asked

"Yeah… I'm going to try to catch up on some sleep. Wake me up if anything happens." She said through a yawn. It wasn't long after that that sleep had overcome her.

She had the nightmare again, but it wasn't as bad as the last time, and she woke in a cold sweat. At least she wasn't screaming, who knows how much attention that would have brought them. Speaking of attention… she found out what had woken her up in the first place.

"Put it out you fools, put it out!" Frodo cried, forcing her to open her eyes to see the commotion. Michelle saw a fire and saw that the three hobbits had decided to make themselves an early breakfast.

"Well that's nice." Pippin complained as Frodo tried profusely to stamp the fire out.

"Shit-hurry!" Michelle said, suddenly alert. Running and throwing her blanket onto the fire, putting the last of it out, but it was too late…

Michelle thought her heart had actually stopped when she heard that scream she hated so much.

"Oh my god…" Michelle whimpered as she could see five Nazguls walk to the base of Weathertop, swords being drawn.

"Go!" Frodo cried to them, pushing the other hobbits. Michelle followed them, watching from the rear to make sure none were coming behind them. She remembered Aragorn had told her there were nine of them, and they had only seen five. Speaking of Aragorn, of course he had to disappear when they needed him most. But at the same time it got her thinking, what if Aragorn ran into the Nazguls while he was looking around, what if that's the reason he hadn't returned yet. Michelle felt fear for not only herself, but for Aragorn too.

She followed the hobbits to the top of Weathertop, and felt a wave of panic when she realized that they were trapped. They could go no higher and she knew the Nazguls could come from any direction at any time. Michelle unsheathed her new sword and pressed her back against the hobbits, each of them looking in a different direction while protecting each other's back.

Seconds went by like hours as she searched frantically around for signs of the Nazguls, and wanted to cry when she was finally able to make one out, coming through the mist in her direction. She turned quickly to notify the hobbits but to her horror she four more appear by its side, all five of them like an impending wave, swords raised and ready to strike.

The hobbits looked in her direction with terror as their eyes met the cloaks of the approaching Nazguls. Michelle, acting before thinking stepped in front of the hobbits shielding them. She knew she stood no chance, and she knew she was terrified, but she also knew she would never be able to live with herself if she did not even attempt to protect the hobbits.

"Aragorn!" Michelle cried in an ear splitting shriek as she parried the Nazguls attack. She was in shock she was able to parry it, however the Nazgul moved to fast as it slammed the blunt side of the blade into ribs, throwing her sideways into the crumbled stone wall of the watch tower and her head slammed hard onto a stone rock. "R-run…" she tried to shout to them, but her voice came out much more quiet than she had expected and felt consciousness slip in and out. She lied there for a couple minutes, unaware of her surroundings, until finally consciousness won over and slowly she was able to see what was going on around her. She saw the Nazguls surrounding a corner which seemed like there was nothing there, however as one began to crouch over; she understood that Frodo was invisible in that exact spot, and he was in a lot of trouble.

"Stay away from him!" Michelle yelled throwing the stone she had hit her head off of towards them. She had hoped to distract them away from Frodo, however she managed to get only one of their attentions and found herself facing a Nazgul who seemed to float towards her, sword ready to strike. She quickly jumped to her feet, gasping in breath from the pain in her ribs, knowing that one was probably broken, but held her sword steadily, feeling determined to help Frodo.

As it was just nearing close enough to strike her, a disturbance made the Nazgul look away from her as their hero, Aragorn jumped to the rescue, with sword and torch in hand as he forced the four Nazguls to retreat away from Frodo.

With Aragorn being the distraction Michelle needed, she quickly jumped forward, slashing her sword towards the Nazgul. Noticing her just in time, the Nazgul parried against the blow, but Michelle didn't give it time to launch a counter-attack. She kept with the offense, sending out slashes, and thrusts, only giving the Wraith time to parry, and then parry for the next strike. Michelle was unusually calm though, it wasn't as scary as she thought it would be, but in her head she knew that was thanks to adrenaline. What really scared her was the scream that came from behind her, it startled Michelle and unfortunately distracted her for that one second that the Nazgul needed. It was now Michelle's turn to parry, but this thing was much different from Aragorn. Every time she blocked his attack it seemed as if her entire body shook with the amount of force that thing put in its attacks. After just a couple parries Michelle was beginning to fear she would drop the sword. She had to put every ounce of concentration she had into making sure one of the wraiths attack didn't connect with her that she almost didn't hear when Aragorn screamed from behind her, "Michelle! Duck!"

Immediately registering the command in her head, she dropped back onto her back just as a flaming torch flew where he head had just been and landed directly in the Nazgul's cloak where his face would have been. It screamed painfully as it stumbled away after the other Nazgul's which to Michelle's surprise were retreating as well.

"We… We won?" She asked out loud, almost unable to believe it. "Aragorn we won!" She said in disbelief, jumping to her feet in victory. However that victory spirit was short lived when she saw Frodo.

"Oh my goodness…" she gasped, running to Aragorn, looking at Frodo over his shoulder.

"He's been stabbed by a morgel blade." He scowled and before their eyes the blade of the sword crumbled into dust. He threw the handle down in disgust. "This is beyond my skill to heal, he needs elvish medicine." He picked Frodo up and carried him quickly the way they had come, out of Weathertop.

The only stop they made was when Aragorn needed a new torch in case the Nazgul's decided to return, and the quick retrieval of their packs, which was done in record time for them. Aragorn carried Frodo's pack and once they had reached the bottom of Weathertop they looked around for materials for a torch while they headed in the direction of Rivendell. Michelle brought him a fairly long stick and once Merry and Pippin retrieved some flint, he stopped only for a few seconds to light his new torch.

"Hurry!" Aragorn called to the group, his jog equivilented to Michelle's sprint.

"We're six days from Rivendell! We'll never make it!" Sam cried in despair, pulling the pony with him as fast as it would go. Michelle had been thinking the same thing, but did not want to voice the thought to the group.

"Hold on Frodo…" Michelle heard Aragorn mutter under his breath. That was when it truly dawned on Michelle how much danger Frodo was in, and doubled her effort to keep up with Aragorn.

Aragorn eventually stopped to rest at a clearing with three Troll statues. "They look so real." Michelle commented, trying to distract herself from the current situation.

"That's because at one time they were." Merry said, and told her the tale of how Frodo's uncle had encountered them before they became petrified and how it took so long for the trolls to agree on eating them they turned to stone at sun's first light.

"Wow… to think, he was there when this happened, and the statues still remain here to this day." Michelle said in awe of the history.

"Look Mr. Frodo, Bilbo's trolls." Sam said to Frodo, trying to do anything to help Frodo but there was no response. Only Frodo gasping for breath as his eyes could be seen to glaze over. "Mr. Frodo?" Sam said looking scared and felt Frodo's forehead and called to Aragorn, "He's going cold!"

"Is he going to die?" Pippin asked. Michelle had never seen the young hobbit look so scared.

Aragorn looked back to them, "He's passing into the shadow world, he'll soon become a wraith like them." He said darkly, and then returned his gaze out to the forest as if trying to think of something. "Sam!" he called over and the hobbit ran to him quickly. "Do you know the Ethelas plant?"

"Ethelas?" Sam said, his confused expression telling him no.

"Kingsfoil?" Aragorn said, using the plants other name.

"Kingsfoil, that's a weed."

"It may help to slow the poison, hurry! Michelle stay here." Aragorn called as he passed his torch to Sam and sprinted off into the woods.

"You know it's not necessary to tell me that every time you decide to run off." She retorted.

It had not been more than a few minutes after Aragorn left that Michelle heard the sound of a horse galloping towards them. Fearing the return of the Nazgul she quickly unsheathed her blade. However, it seemed as it Michelle could not have been more far off. On a white stallion rode in the last creature she expected. An Elf.

"Frodo…" she said sadly as she dismounted the horse and crouched by Frodo's side, with Aragorn beside her. She seemed to be speaking in a different language, which obviously had to be elven. "He is failing…" she said to Aragorn, speaking human. "He's not going to last."

Aragorn was chewing a plant in his mouth and rubbed it into Frodo's stab room, Frodo's gasps became louder. She couldn't imagine the pain he was going through.

"We must get him to my father." The she-elf said urgently and Aragorn immediately picked up the hobbit, carrying him to the horse. "I've been looking for you for two days." She said while the other hobbit's voice they're confusion as to where their friend was going. "There are five wraiths behind you, where the other four are I do not know."

Michelle heard them speaking hurriedly in elven, not being able to make out a word they were saying, their words so quiet she probably would not even heard it if they were speaking human. Aragorn helped the elf into the saddle behind Frodo and took a step back.

"Arwen, ride hard. Don't look back." He said, looking torn at letting her face the danger ahead of her. Michelle suddenly remembered hearing that name before and realized that this was the she elf that Aragorn was in love with. The elf gave Aragorn one final look before galloping off into the woods.

"What are you doing?! Those wraiths are still out there!" Sam shouted after her, and Aragorn looked as if he regretted letting her go.

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_Again, please review! If no one reviews, I feel as though no one's reading my story. They're just kinda clicking and leaving, so please, pretty please! I reply to every review to say thank you and if it's really nice I'll even mention you :) Please, just take two tiny seconds to tell me if you like it or not, or something you want to see happen. I work really hard on writing this, and reading reviews makes it all worth it!_


	4. Chapter 3

_Hey everyone, here's Chapter 3! As always, remember to review, they make my day. They really do. If you guys want to see how I'm doing on the story, I have daily updates on my profile with what I'm doing, whether it's announcing when the next chapter will be up, or which chapter I'm in progress of writing. Suggestions are more than loved, that's why I'm waiting a couple days between each chapter I put up, in case I need to throw anything into the chapter, so yeah let me know, write a review or send me a message! And as always, thank you for reading. Oh yeah, and sorry if you see the name Alli anywhere. That's the name I usually call my character in my stories but this time I decided to call her Michelle and my mind is kinda disagreeing with that decision. Usually I correct myself in time... usually, so if you see the name Alli anywhere, just let me know and I'll edit it._

* * *

_Come morning light_

_you and I'll be safe and sound_

* * *

It was hard, continuing the journey without Frodo, unsure whether or not he was still alive. Aragorn wasn't for talking much after Arwen had run into danger. She knew he must be going out of his mind with worry. The hobbits had also become quiet. Conversation was scarce and the amount of words that she used on the rest of the journey could be counted on her fingers. So obviously, for Michelle it was a very, very, very long trip.

It was almost like a breath of fresh air when they finally arrived in Rivendell. The evil that had followed them in the forest seemed almost like it dissipated as they crossed the Bruinen River into elven territory. When they arrived in Rivendell there was a small group of elves waiting for them, including one Aragorn recognized and bowed before. "Lord Elrond." He greeted in respect. "What news of Frodo?"

"The Hobbit will live; we shall discuss it more soon." Elrond said to Aragorn before turning back to Michelle and the hobbits. "Welcome to Rivendell. We have been aware of your arrival and have bedrooms available along with clean clothing and an area to bathe." Aragorn gave Michelle a look, showing her to be respectful.

"Thank you for your hospitality Lord Elrond." Michelle responded graciously, bowing to the elf. She looked to Aragorn and he nodded once, showing his approval.

"My elves will show you to your chambers." He said, motioning for the other elves to lead them to their rooms. Merry and Pippin had to share a room and Sam would share one with Frodo once he returned to full strength but she was relieved to see she would be having her own chamber.

After the elf pointed her in the direction of the women's bath, she thanked the elf and quickly grabbed the clean clothes on her bed and made a bees line for the baths, not being able to stand the dirt and grime that had covered her skin for who knew how long.

After scrubbing her skin until her toes and fingers began to prune, she lifted herself out of the bath, wrapping a towel around her now silky and wet hair and another around her body to dry off. She saw a mirror and checked her reflection, shocked by what she saw; it was like looking at someone who wasn't her. Her face had lost its youthfulness, and her hair had grown a lot longer than what she expected. Her skin had become more toned and she saw muscles in her arm that came from journeying with Aragorn. Her face fell though when she saw the dark ugly bruise that formed on her ribs, it didn't hurt as bad as when she first received it, but she still flinched when she applied pressure. She looked at the ugly brown line in her appendix from her first day. She hated the way it marred her skin, flawing it, and knowing that it would most likely never fade away. She shook her head turning her attention away from it and decided to now focus on her hair. She took a silver brush that rested on the table and slowly brushed the knots out the knots that had survived the bath, until her hair was soft and silky. Once she was satisfied she dressed herself in the elvish clothing and had to admit she looked pretty good, and not to mention normal for being in this world. At least now she wouldn't have to fear of peoples stares when they caught a glimpse of her clothing. After seeing her old clothing was dirty and damaged beyond repair, she decided to trash it.

The new clothing also came with brown knee high leather boots, with gold buttons that ran along the side that were much more comfortable and protective than her old foam flip flops. After she was satisfied with how she looked she left the baths and returned to her room. It was only the afternoon, but Michelle felt that maybe it was time to take a nap and regain her strength until she found out how long they were staying there. She laid down in the soft mattress with the down blanket and pillows and felt like she was in her old bed at home. She smiled as she cuddled with the soft sheets and soon let sleep wash over her.

She awoke to banging on the door to her room and Michelle sleepily called out, "Enter!" even though she was still mostly asleep.

"Would you like me to come back later?" the voice at the door asked and Michelle recognized it as belonging to Aragorn.

"Nah now is fine." Michelle smiled, sitting up a little repositioning herself so she could look at him, "What's up?"

Aragorn's face suddenly became confused. "Up…?" he asked, looking towards the ceiling and pointed to it.

"My god, you're hopeless." She sighed, shaking her head and laughing into her sheets. "What I meant was what can I help you with?"

"Oh," Aragorn said and reminded himself not to be surprised when she said odd words like that. "I came to make sure you were alright and congratulate you."

"Congratulate me?" Michelle repeated, now it was her turn to be confused. "For what?"

"Fighting the Nazgul. It took a lot of courage and skill for you to do that and it was very admirable, especially for someone of your skill level."

"Thanks...I think." Michelle said, knowing it was supposed to be a compliment but the last part put her down, even if it was true.

"I meant it only as a compliment."

"I know." She said, repositioning another pillow under her. "How's Frodo? Did he and Arwen make it back okay?"

"They're both fine, Frodo's recovering as we speak."

"Well that's good." Michelle smiled.

"Yes, Elrond also requested your presence at an upcoming council."

"When is it? And what is it?" Michelle asked, most councils sound pretty boring.

"Representatives of Dwarves, Elves, and Men from across Middle Earth are arriving to discuss the fate of the ring. It will be in three days. Frodo and Gandalf will also be present."

"Why do they want me there? I mean it's not like I should have much of a say considering how long I've been here on Middle Earth." She grumbled.

"This is true, however I was the one who persuaded Elrond to let you come, I think it would be good for you to see."

Michelle sighed, not really wanting to but knew she couldn't exactly say no, especially after he went through the trouble to include her. "Alright, I'll go then." She smiled. Aragorn nodded.

"I must now go speak to Gandalf; he arrived not too long ago." Aragorn said, standing to take his leave.

"I'll come with you." Michelle smiled, pulling the covers off of her and sitting up. "I have yet to meet this Gandalf or explore this place."

"Very well then." Aragorn nodded and waited patiently as Michelle slid her new leather boots on. "I see you were gifted with new clothes."

"Mhmmm." Michelle grinned, happy with the clothes she was wearing, and did a quick happy spin, showing them off. "Now I don't have to worry about looking so foreign anymore."

"This is good." Aragorn agreed, cracking a smile at her youthfulness.

The two walked through Rivendell looking for the famed wizard that went by the name of Gandalf. He was no longer in Frodo's room, and he wasn't with Elrond either so they decided to our through the area, hoping to run across him. As they passed the main gate, Michelle noticed a group of elves enter.

"Aragorn, who are they?" Michelle asked curiously. These elves looked different than those found in Rivendell; they're light blonde hair foreign around the dark haired elves.

"The elf representatives from Mirkwood by the looks of it, I recognize their prince in the group." Aragorn commented.

Michelle nodded, giving the elves one last look before continuing on with Aragorn. At least she thought it was the last look until Elrond appeared in front of them.

"Aragorn, Lady Michelle, is your schedule open?" Elrond asked.

"I'm searching for Gandalf, have you seen him?" asked Aragorn respectfully.

"Yes, he's in the study with my scholars. And you, Lady Michelle?"

"I was just joining Aragorn, is there anything you need?" Michelle asked politely, bowing.

"Yes, the elves from Mirkwood have just arrived and all of my spare elves are patrolling the border making sure the Nazguls do not enter these lands. Would you be able to show the elves to the spare rooms? They are at the end of the hall where you abode."

"Sure, no problem." She smiled, happy to be of some help. "I guess I'll have to wait to meet this Gandalf." She said to Aragorn in a farewell and walked to the new elves. "Umm… Just follow me, I guess." Michelle said nervously, unsure if they spoke English.

"After you Milady." The elf in the front, with long blonde hair with his bangs braided to his side, and deep blue eyes. Michelle found they were actually very pretty. He was obviously the leader of the group, and most likely the prince Aragorn spoke. '_No pressure or anything…_'

Michelle nodded, "You can just call me Michelle." She smiled.

"As you wish, Lady Michelle, my name is Legolas Greenleaf, son of Thranduil."

Michelle sighed, were all elves so formal?

"Pleased to meet you, Lord Legolas." She returned the greeting.

"Just Legolas is fine, Lady Michelle." He corrected.

"And just Michelle is fine also, Lord Legolas." She challenged a smirk across her face.

"As you wish then… Michelle."

"Glad we understand each other…Legolas." She flashed him a wide smile to show him she was only playing around and was relieved to see him smile back, happy he hadn't taken her so seriously. Something told her they were going to get along just fine.

By then they had already entered the hall where the guest bedrooms branched off and she lead them down to the end of the hall. "These bedrooms until the end of the hall are the empty ones. I'm not sure which ones exactly Elrond intended for you though." She said, suddenly unsure of what she was supposed to do.

"I see clothes in these two rooms," Legolas said, pointing into the room they were outside and the one across the hall from it, "but none in the next, so I'm guessing these two were meant for us." Legolas said to his three companions. "Thank you guiding us Lad- I mean, Michelle." He smiled.

"Not a problem Legolas." Michelle returned the smile and bowed. "I'll take my leave then."

She walked to her own room and laid back on her bed. She wondered what would happen to them now. They got to Rivendell, so now what? Literally anything could happen, they could go somewhere else, they could get even more people to travel with, or Aragorn could even come out of the blue and just leave her here. She shivered at that last thought. She didn't mind if they stayed here forever, or went on more travels, but she didn't want to be left alone and forgotten about.

She didn't realize she had fallen asleep but suddenly she was back in her nightmare again and she could tell it was going to be another bad one… '_Ah shit._' She cursed to herself.

She was awoken by Aragorn shaking her again and Legolas behind him, looking over at her with concerned eyes. "The nightmare again?" he asked, sighing in relief as she awoke.

"Mhmm..." she said, rubbing her eye and sitting up, trying to take deep breaths, purging the nightmare from her mind. "Hi again." She said to Legolas who nodded a greeting.

"Well it's morning. You slept all day and night." Aragorn said, chuckling pushing a few strands of her hair back into place. "We were on our way to breakfast when we heard you screaming for help, would you like to join us?"

"Love to." Michelle said, feeling better already. She slipped on her boots and followed the two to the dining hall where a banquet of fruits, vegetables, and various meats were placed eloquently on a large table.

"Have you tried the potatoes?" Aragorn asked Michelle as the men were on their second plate of food while she had barely eaten half of her own.

"Not yet…" she said, taking her fork and stabbing one of his cubed potatoes that seemed to be fried in some kind of marinade. "Now I have and it's delicious." She grinned, sticking her tongue out at Aragorn. She knew that stealing his food annoyed him, but at the same time he knew she needed cheering up.

"Sometimes your behavior revolts me." Aragorn said giving a mild glare but his smile took the sting out of his words.

"Love ya too." She said, giving him her best biggest grin, squinting her eyes, making Aragorn chuckle before turning back to his plate.

"I do not remember making your acquaintance in Mirkwood; did you two meet after that event?" Legolas asked curiously, skirting around the meats and sticking to the potatoes and fresh food. Michelle thought maybe being an elf would be cool; until she found out they were vegetarians. She wasn't a big meat lover herself, but she wouldn't be able to go more than a week without having some kind of serving of bacon.

"I met her about five months ago." Aragorn answered.

"I was attacked by an orc and he rescued me, healing me to full health." Michelle continued.

"I see, it's unfortunate about the attack but I'm glad to see you are faring well." Legolas nodded, showing admiration.

"I've taken her under my wing since then, teaching her all I know."

"I'm a mix between his apprentice and daughter." Michelle chided in.

"Not literally my daughter." Aragorn quickly put in after Legolas' raised eyebrows. "It's simply what's she been calling herself."

"I understand." Legolas nodded, "It's a very admirable thing to do, and I can see it's paying off. I heard how you were able to fend off against a Nazgul, that's no small accomplishment after just a few short months of training." Michelle blushed under his praise.

"It was nothing, really… I wouldn't have been able to hold out another minute if Aragorn didn't have my back." Michelle said, giving Aragorn a gracious and thankful glance.

"You would have done the same for me." He said in return, taking a sip from his goblet full of red wine. Aragorn knew Michelle hated the taste of alcohol so requested for an elf to bring her a goblet full of cold milk.

"I feel like a little kid drinking milk… I miss Pepsi." Michelle sighed, having quite the Pepsi addiction while back on earth.

"You miss what?" Legolas asked his head cocked to the side in puzzlement.

"Never mind, forget I said anything." Michelle smiled quickly, not feeling like explaining it to the elf she had just met. Legolas still seemed confused but dropped the subject upon seeing she would say no more on the subject.

"That reminds me." Aragorn said suddenly after taking a long sip from his goblet, finishing whatever left was in it. "We should practice your sword fighting again; only this time with the sword I gave you."

"But I thought we were relaxing." Michelle complained, feeling too comfortable to go and get whacked around.

"Exactly, we can't have you feeling spoiled and losing valuable skill that could mean the difference between life and death." Aragorn said sternly, obviously not giving her much of a choice.

"Okay, okay. I see your point, but isn't real swords a little dangerous? Why can't we keep using sticks?"

"Because there's a huge difference in the two when it comes to weight and length. Something that may seem easy using a stick is more difficult when using an actual sword, which could prove to be very fatal."

"Alright… just don't hurt me." She gave in but having to put in her final word. Aragorn gave her a mischievous smile.

"I'll join you, perhaps while when she is need of a rest you and I could spar as well Aragorn." Legolas offered.

"I accept your offer; it would be good for Michelle to witness as well." Aragorn agreed.

"You two are going to be show offs aren't you." She glared. That made Aragorn give her a wide smile and the two males departed the table.

"Meet us in the gardens with your sword." Aragorn said, "And." He quickly added when he saw Michelle prepare to stand up, "I want you to finish your breakfast. You've been picking at your food and have only eaten half of it."

"I don't have a big appetite in the morning, and are you seriously making me finish." Michelle asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow.

"Call me your father and I will treat you like my daughter." Aragorn chided although still very serious. Michelle groaned loudly and returned to her plate, slowly putting forkfuls in her mouth, not feeling like eating.

She had sparring lessons for the rest of the day with both Aragorn and Legolas and got her ass beat every time by both of them, especially the elf. She had never faced anyone with two weapons and every time she went to block one knife, the blunt side of the other knife rapped against her side or arm.

"If you're ever free Legolas, you'll have to spar with her more often and teach her how to block against two weapons." Aragorn said, seeing Michelle collapse once again as Legolas' knife thwacked against the side of her ribs right where the Nazgul injure her, making her cry out in pain and collapse, tears stinging her eyes from the pain and a string of muffled curses leaving her mouth. Both men were at her side immediately.

"My apologies, I did not think I hit you that hard." Legolas said quickly, Aragorn putting an arm under her and leaning her up.

"No… no… you didn't…" Michelle gasped, the pain slowly subsiding. "While trying to protect Frodo, a Nazgul hit me in the ribs, not with the edge." She added quickly when Aragorn looked as if he were about to rush her off to Elrond that very second. "But I'm nearly positive he broke a rib, and it's still pretty tender."

"May I?" Aragorn asked, wanting to examine the wound. Michelle nodded, and Legolas looked away. It reminded Michelle again how weird the people from the world were. In her world, it wasn't a big deal to see ribs. Just look at bikinis and how skimpy they had become. But here, showing off your belly button was something only a husband should see. It made Michelle laugh every time she was reminded of it.

Aragorn lifted the shirt to where he could see the dark purple bruise, and softly pressed his palm against it, making Michelle wince in pain. "Yes, it is definitely broken. Why did you not mention it?" He asked her disapprovingly, releasing her shirt and standing up.

"I dunno, I just kinda got used to it, it didn't even cross my mind. I wanted to tell you right after I received it, but Frodo was a greater priority." Michelle shrugged. It was true though; she had gotten used to the sharp pain whenever she took too deep of a breath or coughed, or laughed too hard. Every time she was reminded herself, Aragorn wasn't around and she forgot.

"Alright, I think I've pushed you far enough today." Aragorn sighed, helping her to feet and handing her sword. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, never been better, this is the best I've felt in months." She joked, lightening the mood.

"Well at least your mouth doesn't seem to be hurt at all." Aragorn teased, making Michelle stick out her tongue to him. "Let's head back and grab some dinner then."

They sat together in the dining hall, eating roasted pork, and a stir fry of vegetables. Afterwards the group disbanded, and Michelle was left to her own thoughts. She felt exhausted and drained from the relentless training and pain and decided to head straight back to bed.

The next day Michelle saw more people arrive as she trained with Aragorn and Legolas again.

"Are those dwarves?" She asked incredulously, becoming distracted, Aragorn scolded her by whacking her arm, causing pain to tingle up her arm and lose grip of her sword.

"That's another thing you'll have to work on, never let go of your sword Michelle." Aragorn said, retrieving the sword and handing it to her, "And never lose focus on your opponent."

"I know I'm sorry." Michelle apologized retaking the sword. It was another lesson that lasted until nightfall. She was finally starting to get used to Legolas' attacks though and was getting used to parrying them and being able to counterstrike.

"Very good." The elf praised her after he was able to disarm her.

"For what? I lost. Again." She pointed out. Michelle didn't particularly mind losing, just after consecutive losses it got annoying not able to win at least once.

"Yes, but you are getting much better than our first fight. I had a feeling you would prove to be a fast learner, and I was not wrong."

"No, no you weren't." Michelle said playfully, giving a wide grin.

"That is enough for today. The council is tomorrow so make sure you get some sleep." Aragorn said briskly, standing up and walking towards them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What are we going to be counseling about?" Michelle asked.

"The fate of the one ring." Legolas answered, looking grim.

"Are you ever going to fill me in on this?" Michelle asked Aragorn, impatient.

"One day perhaps. I'm keeping it from you for your own good."

"How is it for my own good!? How is being blind and being kept in my small naïve world protecting me? Eventually I'm going to find out, maybe even the hard way, and I'll have no way of preparing myself for it. What's so bad that you can't even tell me? I've followed you without question for the last couple months; no amount of evil can change that!" She shouted, panting for breath when she finished. She had kept that bottled up ever since Aragorn had first mentioned the ring.

No one spoke for a little bit, an awkward silence descending upon them, and Michelle could tell from the look Aragorn gave her that he still was not going to tell her. "Never mind. I was out of line. I'll be going to bed then." She said flatly, blank of emotions. She walked away from them, head down, back to her room, and quietly closed the door. She didn't see why Aragorn couldn't just tell her. She wanted badly to understand what was going on around her but no one would tell her.

"It's because they think of me as a child…" Michelle said, and she knew it was true the second it had left her lips. It's not like she could blame them with the way she acted, but still. In her world she would have been considered an adult and treated like one, but here was different.

She fell into an uneasy asleep, feeling cold and alone in the very foreign world to her. She heard knocking on her door, but made no effort to answer it, and soon footsteps were heard walking down the hallway. She felt bad; having a feeling it was Aragorn. The two of them had never fought before, maybe bickered a little bit but never raised voices to each other. She felt a tear leak from her eye but wouldn't allow herself to shed anymore tears and forced herself back to sleep.

When Michelle awoke, the sun was already shining, and by the looks of it, the sun had been shining for a while. Aragorn never came to wake her up. Michelle sighed and rolled out of bed, knowing she had to find Aragorn and apologize. She didn't have much to apologize for, maybe for yelling but Aragorn was the one who was keeping the secrets. But Michelle knew the guilt would pile up inside her if she didn't. She was always the first to apologize in a fight.

She didn't see Aragorn in the Dining Hall, or in the gardens sparring with Legolas. She was positive she was going to find him in one of those two places and when remained missing Michelle was at a loss.

"Aragorn!" She called, wandering through the gardens, but there was no reply. She decided to head back inside and try knocking on the door to his room, she heard footsteps inside. Of course, he would be in the most obvious place.

"Come in." Aragorn called and Michelle slowly opened the door, looking over at Aragorn timidly from the door. He looked over to see it was her and sighed. "Come in Michelle."

She took a couple of steps in the room and stood awkwardly, suddenly unsure of what to say, trying to form out the apology in my head. "Aragorn… I wanted to apologize about last night."

He shook his head at her apology. "Don't apologize; you have nothing to apologize for… take a seat Michelle." He said pointing to his bed. Michelle quickly walked over and sat cross-legged on the mattress. Aragorn took a seat too, keeping his feet on the ground and facing towards her. "Are you sure that you want to know."

"I'm not a child Aragorn. I don't know what this ring is or who's after it, but I want to help. I don't care how dangerous, if it affects you than it affects me too."

"I know… I keep forgetting how old you are. Maybe you are right when you say I'm like a father, trying to protect you from the evils of this world, even the evils that are ever present, you just aren't aware of." He sighed.

Aragorn told the story, of the rings Sauron forged and how he made one for himself. How the ring had been cut from his finger and now Sauron was growing stronger and needed the ring to rule the world.

"Sauron is still very much alive, and he will use all of its might to regain possession of the ring."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We?" Aragorn asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

"Well I know for a fact you are going to do something, and you know for a fact that you are not going to leave me behind in some weird place to stay safe while you go on an adventure and forget about me. I go where you go, I've told you this." Michelle said sternly, showing Aragorn that nothing would convince her otherwise.

"I suppose you're right… In that case you coming to the council has become much more important. Come, it should be starting soon." Aragorn said standing up.

"So, we're fine again?" Michelle asked, jumping up beside him, she didn't like when they weren't speaking to each other.

"We always were." Aragorn said simply, and with a small smile patted her head, and the pair left the room, walking together towards the council that would change both of their lives, the wheels of destiny about to be set in motion.

* * *

_On a P.S. note, once again, review people! Even if you're a guest just type what you think real fast and press submit. Not that hard! ;D_

_P.S.S Hi everyone ^_^ I also need to know, do you think I'm keeping everyone in character, cause I'm trying my best to have Aragorn stay Aragorn and Legolas stay Legolas. Btw, I have a looot of Michelle/Legolas scenes in the next chapter... well not a lot, but just a big one, anyway yeah, review people!_

_P.S.S.S If you guys want me to spend sometime in another character's POV let me know in a review or something, caause I'm just gonna stay with Michelle unless someone speaks up, or I'm like hit with inspiration to play with another character, so yeaaah, I know it's a little late to ask, since the main traffic has passed but if anyone reads this let me know! :3_


	5. Chapter 4

_Don't you dare look out your window __Darlin, everything's on fire_

_The war outside our door keeps raging on_

* * *

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You've been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction, none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom." Elrond began, starting the council on a cheery note as usual, he looked to the eyes of each member as he spoke, making Michelle feel the severity of the importance of this council. She was happy Aragorn had decided to clue her in on what was going on, or else she never would have understood what Elrond was talking about. "Bring forth the ring, Frodo." He summoned Frodo forward into the center of the circle, and watched as the hobbit delicately placed the ring on the stone pedestal, visible to all. She looked across as Frodo retook his seat next to Gandalf, and he caught her eye. She gave him a small, reassuring smile which he gratefully returned.

She half wished she was sitting by them, but Aragorn told her the races had to sit next to each other, so she had no choice but to sit next to Aragorn and the other humans, catching the eyes of Frodo and Legolas every now and then, but for the most part they were zoned out listening to Elrond.

"So it is true…" A man said from near them, sitting a couple of chairs away from Aragorn. She saw Aragorn stiffen and gave him a suspicious stare as the man stood, looking at the ring as if it were a tasty dessert. "A dream. I saw the eastern sky grow dark, but in the west a pale light lingered. A voice was crying "your doom is near at hand." So Isildur's Bane is found..." The man quietly, suddenly appearing in a trance. Michelle saw him slowly reach for the ring, and felt her own body stiffen, ready to bolt out of her chair and give him a tackle a football coach would be proud of if his finger even brushed the ring.

"Boromir!" Elrond barked, snapping Boromir out of it. Suddenly, the sky grew dark as the ring seemed to speak loudly, its voice echoing, and Gandalf started chanting in the same language as the ring. The ground seemed to shake and Michelle squeaked in fear, holding onto Aragorn.

"A-Aragorn?" Michelle looked to her friend who grasped her forearm, looking at Gandalf calmly. The elves, including Elrond, seemed to be having the worst headaches of their life and Gimli grabbed his axe, and looked ready to battle the first evil thing he saw. After a moment, Gandalf sank back into his chair, as the last of the evil language faded away along with the darkness, and soon everything was quiet and peaceful again.

"Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris." Elrond spoke to Gandalf, clearly annoyed.

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond, for the black speech of Mordor may it be heard in every corner of the west. The ring is altogether evil." Gandalf said grimly, his voice still a little shaky from his incantation.

"It is a gift." Boromir declared, standing from his seat once again, and Michelle could already see where this was going to go. '_Oh not again, I guess every good council needs one fool._' Michelle thought to herself, rolling her eyes. Aragorn gave her a side glance and by looking at her expression he could tell what see was thinking, and gave her an amused smile, showing his agreement.

"A gift to the foes of Mordor, why not use this ring?" Boromir continued. "Long has my father, the Stuart of Gondor kept the forces of Mordor at bay by the blood of our people are your lands kept safe." Aragorn sighed in frustration at his arrogance and Michelle could only think of two words to describe him. '_Daddy's boy._' "Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him."

"You cannot wield it, none of us can." Aragorn said, his frustration towards Boromir festering. "The One ring answers to Sauron alone, it has no other master."

"And what would a ranger know of know of this matter." Boromir challenged.

"Obviously a lot more than you seem to understand." Michelle retorted. The arrogant, thinks-he-knows-it-all now had Michelle riled up as well.

"This is no mere Ranger; this is Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Legolas stood up, also coming to Aragorn's defense. "You owe him your allegiance."

'_Now wait a sec…_' Michelle thought, catching the last thing Legolas mentioned, '_What does that mean…_'

"Aragorn… This is Isildur's heir." Boromir said aghast, looking to Aragorn in disbelief.

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." Legolas shot back.

'_And just when you think you know a person…_' Michelle thought through gritted teeth. Sure, maybe Aragorn never told her for a reason, maybe he didn't like the fact he was heir to an entire kingdom, but he could have at least mentioned it to her so she didn't have to find out from someone else. She inconspicuously slapped Aragorn's arm lightly. He gave her a quick and apologetic look and mouthed the word, "Later." He then quickly turned his attention to Legolas and said something in Elvish, and after a moment's hesitation, the elf took his seat. However still gave an unhappy look to Boromir. Michelle caught Legolas' eye and quickly pretended to take a deep breath, and smiled to him. Legolas copied her, her, and after a few breaths looked less irritated and returned her smile.

"Gondor has no King, Gondor needs no king." Boromir scowled towards Aragorn before returning to his own seat, another argument put to rest.

"Aragorn is right." Gandalf spoke up, a lot more calm this time. "We cannot use it." It was Elrond's turn to stand up.

"You have only one choice. The ring must be destroyed." This statement confused Michelle, she thought this was partly obvious, but why did no one speak up or agree. Why did everyone seem to tense with apprehension at the very idea. Well… almost everyone, except for the dwarves. They seemed to follow her idea.

"Well what are we waiting for?" A red-haired dwarf growled, picking up an axe from beside him. With a fierce battle cry that almost got a squeak of fear out of Michelle, he rushed forward swinging his axe down onto the ring with all the force the small Dwarf had.

Michelle thought that was the end of it, yippee it was destroyed, but realized how wrong she was as pieces of the dwarf's axe scattered around the pedestal, leaving the dwarf on his back, holding what was left of his axe. Michelle thought she heard words speak from the ring, which to her amazement was still in one piece and didn't seem to even bear a scratch, but she couldn't be sure.

"The ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess." Elrond said after calmly watching the dwarf destroy the axe. "The ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this."

No one spoke a word as he finished, and Michelle was pretty sure how dangerous the task he was asking them to do was. To bring the ring into the middle of Mordor… otherwise known as the enemy's main camp. To her, it sounded like a suicide mission. However at the same time, she knew that it had to be done. They couldn't just say 'that's too hard' and throw the ring into a ditch or something. The fate of her new world rested on this, and it would definitely not be easy.

"One does not simply walk into Mordor." Boromir started. '_Oh here we go, our Pessimist of the Month._'

"Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep and the great eye is ever watchful. Tis a barren wasteland, whittled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly-"

"We get it already; no one picked you to do this. If you're too much afraid then leave it to those who have courage." Michelle snapped. The man wasn't exactly motivating anyone to come forward and take on this task, and she could see a couple people were actually starting to look sick.

"Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The ring must be destroyed." Legolas agreed, standing from his seat again to aid Michelle.

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it." Gimli accused angrily at the elf's words, looking as if he would twist any of the elves words just to speak his mind to them.

"And if we fail what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?" Boromir shouted at her.

"Would you be quiet with your god damn pessimism? I haven't heard one cheery or motivating thing come from your mouth since you got here! The ring must be destroyed, there is no other option!" Michelle was on her feet now. She really… really didn't like this guy.

"I would be dead before I see the ring in the hands of an elf." Gimli scowled at Legolas and the other elves. '_Oh here we go…_'

The council went into an uproar, fights breaking out everywhere. Aragorn grabbed Michelle by the back of her shirt as a dwarf and an elf shouted at each other bitterly in front of them, forcing her back into her seat next to him. "Sorry…" she muttered, turning to her friend. "But he was being very arrogant… I don't like him."

Aragorn shook his head, a small amusing laugh escaping his lips, but kept his own comments to himself as the two of them watched the races argue and yell at each other. Even Gandalf got involved, taking Michelle's place of screaming at Boromir.

"I will take it!" She heard a voice call it, and Michelle almost looked in disbelief as she saw who spoke it. "I will take it!" He said louder, as everyone turned to see Frodo in amazement. Michelle saw Aragorn look at Frodo with admiration. "I will take the ring to Mordor… though… I do not know the way."

"Oh Frodo…" Michelle said softly. Michelle has spoken to him and the other hobbits, and remembered how excited they seemed about going home back to the Shire. Michelle knew what Frodo was sacrificing.

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear." Gandalf said gently, coming over to stand next to the young hobbit and putting an arm on his shoulder. Michelle knew Frodo and Gandalf had been good friends for as long as Frodo could remember, so it was no surprise Gandalf would volunteer to join. Michelle felt Aragorn stand up and took a couple steps toward Frodo.

"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will." Before he reached the hobbit though he turned around and gave her a look saying '_Well, are you coming or not._' Quickly catching on, she jumped up and hurried next to Aragorn, and heard a few chuckles from the council members.

"I refuse to see death plague this world, and stand by and do nothing." Michelle said copying Aragorn's movements until they both kneeled in front of Frodo.

"You have our swords." Aragorn said, and Michelle gave the hobbit a wide, excited grin. Frodo nodded his head gratefully and returned Michelle's smile. The two of them returned to their feet and stood next to Frodo.

"And you have my bow." Legolas joined in, coming towards them and their group. Michelle couldn't help but feel excited that Legolas had decided to come. He had become a friend to her in the last couple of days and knew he would prove useful on the journey, not only for his amazing skills with the bow and knives, but also as a good companion and friend.

"And my axe." Gimli said with finality, as if daring anyone to speak otherwise, taking his broken axe and coming to stand beside Legolas. Michelle could see an agitated look cross Legolas' face but elf stayed silent. Aragorn had told her that elves and dwarves didn't get along very well, but she always thought it was a stereotype. Now she could see how right Aragorn was.

"You carry the fate of us all little one." Boromir said, coming over as well. Now it was Michelle's turn to feel agitated. '_If he's coming this had better be a quick trip._' "If this is indeed for the council, Gondor will see it done."

"Hey!" A voice came out from a couple feet behind her and Michelle let out a squeak of surprise as Sam came from out of the bushes and quickly sprinted under Aragorn to Frodo's side. "Mr. Frodo's not goin anywhere without me." Sam said, stubbornly crossing his arms.

"No indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not." Elrond said, and Michelle could see he actually looked pretty amused at Sam's faithfulness to Frodo.

"I think this council stopped being secret when Gandalf started speaking different languages…" Michelle said quietly, and saw Aragorn cough, masking a laugh.

"Hey! We're coming too!" Merry shouted from behind a stone pillar, the entrance to the gardens they used for the council. "You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us."

"My point." Michelle smiled, happy to see all the hobbits were joining them.

"Besides, you need people of intelligence on this kind of message… quest… thing." Pippin said, looking proud of himself. Michelle couldn't hold back the laughter as muffled giggles escaped her mouth.

"Well that rules you out Pip." Merry said to his best friend.

"Ten companions… so be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." Elrond said to them, making Michelle feel proud and important.

"Great!" Pippin said excitedly. "Where are we going?" He asked seriously. A moment later all you could hear was laughter from the council, and Michelle personally had fallen to her knees. If these were to be her companions for the duration of the journey, Michelle was beginning to think; maybe it wouldn't be such a terrible thing after all.

The fellowship decided to leave in two months, in early December, giving Gimli time to forge a new axe and more importantly, time for Michelle to continuing training in sword fighting.

"Remember to move your feet." Aragorn corrected her as he circled Michelle and Legolas sparring. A couple of moments later, Michelle was on the ground once again, as Legolas disarmed her. "And defense is more important than offense."

"Yeah, yeah." Michelle growled, returning to her feet, her sword back in her hands.

"Don't worry, you will win eventually." Legolas promised her, with a challenge in his eyes, making Michelle grow angry.

"Take a couple moments to regain your strength." Aragorn told her, moving towards Legolas to begin their own sparring, leaving Michelle to her thoughts and to watch them.

'_If I just had one opening…_' Michelle grumbled watching the two of them, thinking to her past battles, trying to think of how to get one of them off their guard. Then, as if something clicked in her mind, Michelle's face went from frustration to excitement, as she realized how she could beat them. She knew how, because she had the opportunity before, she just never realized it until now.

The men's sparring ending in a couple minutes later after Aragorn disarmed Legolas. When it came to sword fighting, Aragorn was the winner however in Archery, Legolas trumped all.

"Ready for another round Michelle?" Legolas asked, still panting from his duel with Aragorn.

"Anytime you are." Michelle smiled, making sure her features and voice were the same as they were before every fight.

It started like their usually sparring bouts. Michelle would make the first move; Legolas would block it or dodge it and throw a counterattack at her. This time though, Michelle didn't move fast enough, as Legolas's knife came at her, the blunt side thwacking her on her side, making Michelle fall to the ground, crying out in pain with her blades held tightly in her hands to the point where her knuckles turn white.

"My apologies!" Legolas said quickly, releasing his knives and dropping to his knees, guilt washing over his face. Before Aragorn had a chance to run over though, Michelle quickly sent a foot into Legolas' gut, forcing him to fall over and gasping for breath, and Michelle quickly stood over him, the edge of her sword resting on the throat of the unarmed elf.

"I think I won this round." Michelle said amused, while both Legolas and Aragorn remained in shock at her trick. She quickly removed her sword from the elf's neck and sheathed it, happily jumping up and down like a little kid. "Yay, I won, I won!" she smiled.

"You cheated." Legolas argued, but after a moment he sighed. "Although, you still won. I let my guard down."

"Not bad, a different approach, not one I would use." Aragorn agreed coming to stand next to him. "However I would not plan on that working a second time, or a first time to any orc."

"I know I just wanted to win once." Michelle smiled, although her moment of happiness was leaving her. Knowing that even though she won this time, it wouldn't work again and she would go back to her losing streak.

"Do not fret, one day you will have more victories." Legolas smiled. "Why don't we stop for today?"

"I like that idea." Michelle smiled, looking to Aragorn giving him the puppy dog eyes. "Can we stop for today Aragorn." He rolled his eyes and sighed, obviously giving in.

"I think you deserve it." He smiled.

"Yaaay! Let's go find some food then." Michelle said happily, grabbing both men's wrists and dragging them behind her as the three of them made for the dining hall.

Today's meal was in high spirits, not like their past dinners where Michelle was too tired and exhausted to give much to a conversation.

"So, since you're an elf, and elves are immortal, how old are you Legolas?" Michelle asked curiously, putting another forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. The elves seemed to have it made. Immortal life, one of the lightest and most graceful creatures, not affected by the heat or cold, beautiful, and not to mention, they knew how to cook.

"Nine hundred twenty nine." Legolas told her and she nearly choked on her food. She knew he was old but not that old.

"You're even older than Aragorn." Michelle gasped, and both Legolas and Aragorn erupted into laughter.

"Believe it or not Michelle, Legolas is actually young for an elf. Arwen is almost three thousand years old." Aragorn told her, making Michelle's mouth hang open with shock. She was going to ask about Elrond's age but suddenly did not want to know the answer.

"What about you Michelle, you are neither Elvish nor Dunadain?" Legolas asked.

"No… I'm as human as they come. I'm almost nineteen." Michelle answered with a shrug. "You two make me feel young… and awkward considering my two good friends are at least seventy years older than me." That comment made the two men snort with laughter.

"Age is only the number of years living." Legolas reminded her with a smile as he bit into a cold piece of broccoli. Michelle could never understand his appetite, how he survived while eating like a rabbit.

"That's true." Michelle smiled, hearing those words a lot when she was on earth; however in that world it was used as an excuse for dating someone who was ten years older or younger than you.

When the group finished Aragorn told them that he needed to talk to Elrond, which was fine with Michelle. She wanted to go to the gardens anyway and relax. As she stood from the table and left the dining area in direction of the gardens she saw a certain elf following her.

"Can I help you with something Legolas?" Michelle asked curiously, turning to look at the elf.

"I was hoping to talk to you in private." Legolas smiled, "Would you mind if I joined you in the gardens?"

"N-no, of course not." Michelle said quickly, turning back into the direction of the gardens before a blush creeped into her face. 'The gardens… private…' Michelle's mind raced with different theories of what the elf wanted that she didn't even notice when they arrived and accidently bumped into Legolas' back.

"Oh, I'm s-sorry." Michelle stuttered. She had never been alone with Legolas and suddenly felt nervous without Aragorn here.

"No need to apologize." Legolas said, taking a seat on a branch of a tree. He looked up to the stars and seemed to stare at them for a long time. Michelle felt awkward, not knowing what to do. She tried to climb up into the tree Legolas was in, and almost got to his branch when her footing slipped. She gritted in teeth in pain as her shin scraped down against the ark, and almost fell back to the ground when Legolas's hand shot out and grabbed hers, pulling her back up and beside him. "Do not tell me we need to work on your climbing skills as well." Legolas joked.

"Ha ha." Michelle said dryly, but couldn't resist letting a small laugh out as she checked her shin. Nothing fatal, just a red scrape where a few beads of blood dripped out, but that was about it.

"Are you alright?" Legolas said, noticing the injury.

"Yeah, it's nothing serious." Michelle shrugged, letting her legs drop from the branch swung them lightly through the cool evening air, feeling good on her scrape.

"Good." Legolas nodded. "The reason I wanted to talk you alone is that I am very curious about where you are from. You do not seem to fare from any land I have ever traveled through."

"Oh, t-that's what you wanted to talk about." Michelle stammered feeling foolish for her earlier reasoning's on why he wanted to be alone with her. "Well… I guess that's because I'm not from any land you've ever traveled through." Michelle shrugged, looking over to him, figuring this conversation would be better if they had eye contact. She didn't mind telling Legolas. He had become a good friend to her and he deserved to know the truth about her.

"I arrived here six months ago from my old world, Earth. Not Middle Earth, just plain earth. One moment I was falling asleep in my bed and rolled over and then next I'm lying down in a grass field here. You know the rest of the story." She said, pointing to her scar.

"I see… I am sorry about your situation." He said voice full of sincerity.

"Oh… no, don't be. Really. I didn't have anything going for me in my old world, but here… I feel like I actually belong." Michelle smiled and Legolas nodded at her words.

"Perhaps you were meant to come here then."

"That's my theory." She agreed. "But umm… don't tell anyone this okay. Last thing I need is for people to start thinking of me as a witch and burning me at the stake." She laughed making Legolas laugh as well.

"I shall guard your secret with my life." He promised with a smile, reminding Michelle of an old thing she used to do in her old world and hadn't had the chance to do in a while.

"Pinky Promise?" Michelle asked with a smile, holding her pinkie out.

"Pinky Promise?" He repeated her words confused, motioning her to explain.

"A pinky promise is where we wrap our pinkies around each other while making a promise, and if you can never ever break that promise. If you do we can't be friends anymore." Michelle said, still holding her pinky out expectantly.

"I see…" He said, cautiously holding his pinkie out and delicately wrapping it around hers, his eyes going to her as if he were afraid he were doing it wrong. "Well than Michelle, I pinky promise that I shall guard your secret with my life." He promised. Michelle gave him a satisfied smile and they retracted their fingers.

"Congratulations, you just made your first pinky promise." Michelle smiled.

"Yes… is that how all promises are made in your world?" He asked curiously, staring at his pinky.

"All the important ones."

"I see… you're world sounds strange. And you said there are no elves?"

"No elves." Michelle agreed. "Only humans."

"Interesting…" Legolas said looking as if he were deeply troubled by that fact, as if trying to imagine a world without elves. "What about forests?" he quickly asked.

"Yes, we have forests." Michelle answered, laughing at his curiosity. "To be honest, I'm surprised how accepting you are about it. How you believe me and all."

"At first I was skeptical but I could tell from the minute you spoke that you were not from here. There are many magics in the world, I would not be surprised if traveling to different worlds was possible and we simply have yet to discover it."

Michelle smiled softly. "Thank you for believing me." She said softly, staring back out into the distance.

"Anytime _Mellon Nin_." Legolas smiled.

"Mel-lawn Nin?" Michelle asked, making Legolas lean forward laughing.

"Mellon Nin, it means my friend." Legolas explained.

"Oh, I see. Sorry my Elvish needs some work." She giggled.

They sat there in silence for a little longer, talking about random things like her old world and where Legolas grew up called Mirkwood. Michelle remembered how when she first met Aragorn he told her of how he was returning from Mirkwood and remembered his stories.

"No offense but your forest sounds terrifying." Michelle told him through a yawn, she was now laying down the thick tree branch as Legolas leaned against the trunk.

"It can be." Legolas agreed. "You look like you need sleep, would you like me to walk you back?" Legolas asked.

"That would be lovely." Michelle yawned as she watched Legolas jump down and land gracefully on the ground. Michelle started edging towards the trunk of the tree to climb down when he called to her.

"Jump, I'll catch you." Legolas called up.

"Are you sure?" She asked timidly.

"Do you doubt my strength?" he asked her, raising an amused eyebrow.

"Course not." Michelle laughed. She looked down at Legolas, who was directly underneath her, arms out ready to catch her.

'_You can do this… he'll catch you…_' she told herself, slowly pushing herself off of the branch, until she was almost off.

"C'mon, I promise I will catch you. I would pinky promise if I could. Just trust me." Legolas called to her.

That made Michelle giggle and feel a little less scared. Taking a deep breath she pushed herself over the branch, holding back a scream in the second she was airborne.

She felt Legolas's strong arm catch her wedding style and after a second she was back on the safe ground.

"I told you I would catch you." The elf smiled. Michelle gratefully returned it, stretching her stiff legs out.

"I know, thank you." She said sincerely. "Ready to go back?" She asked, taking a few steps towards the buildings of Rivendell.

"After you." He said, motioning his arm. The two walked back towards the bedrooms, talking of anything besides her home world, in case their voices echoed to strangers ears.

"Thanks for walking me back. Are you going to bed too?" She asked Legolas curiously when they reached the door to her room.

"We elves don't sleep very much. I slept last night so I won't need to sleep for a couple more days."

"Oh… that's terrible for a person likes me that loves sleep." Michelle laughed.

"That is a shame, being an elf comes with a lot of benefits."

"I noticed, living forever and all." She teased, sticking her tongues out.

"Just because we are immortal does not mean we cannot die. True, we are immune to disease but we can still die in battle, from grief, or if we give up our immortal life.

"Why would you ever want to give it up?" Michelle asked, looking at the elf like he was crazy.

"If we fall in love with a mortal." He said, making Michelle shut up before she could ask her next question. "And before you ask we die from grief from a relative dying and we can't get over it, or from a broken heart, or other tragedies. Being an elf makes you more in tuned with your emotions." He explained. Michelle nodded, not really sure what to say.

"Anyway, let us not dwell on an unhappy subject; I am keeping you from sleep." Legolas smiled. "I shall see you tomorrow morning for more sparring."

"I'll see you then." Michelle smiled, turning to head into her bedroom as Legolas retreated down the hall and quickly remembered something she meant to ask him. "Oh wait, Legolas!" she called to the elf's back and saw him turn back to her. "I was wondering if you could give me archery lessons?" She saw Legolas smile.

"I would like that very much. Perhaps tomorrow after sparring." He nodded. "Goodnight Mellon Nin."

"Goodnight Mellon Nin." Michelle called, seeing Legolas's face break out into a large grin. With a final wave she turned back and closed the door to her room, letting a small sigh escaped her lips. She felt oddly happy about how the night had gone and found that she enjoyed Legolas' company almost as much as she enjoyed Aragorn's… maybe even more.

"This vacation to Mordor we're taking… maybe it won't be all bad." She smiled, leaning her head against the door before slowly walking to her bed, sleep immediately welcoming her.


	6. Chapter 5

Okay guys, not a lot happened during this part of the movie so I apologize if it's not the best, I threw in some extra stuff to make this chapter less boring so hopefully you'll like it! Thank you so so much for all the wonderful reviews! I posted that last chapter and went to bed and when I woke up I saw I had six new reviews, and it made my day, they were all so wonderful and they made my week. It's reviews like the ones you guys left me that make me happy to be writing this story for you guys! Here's a shout out to the lovely people who have reviewed last chapter!

kaototchi : Thank you very much! I'm glad you're liking my OC, I'm trying to put myself into her, and say and do things that I would say, so thank you very much ^_^ I'm glad you're liking the Legolas stuff too, I'm slowly mixing him in with Michelle, so hopefully you'll start to see the shift from Michelle/Aragorn moments to Michelle/Legolas moments

jhardyluver2588: I'm glad you're enjoying this so far, and here's the next chapter! I try to update every three days but from now on it's gonna be slowing down a bit to about once a week, because work has been calling me almost every day, and I actually got three days off only because I had worked more than 32 hours in 3 days, and legally they can't let a part time worker work over 40 hours, so no work for me until Sunday xD

watergoddesskasey: Thank you for your continued support! It means a lot to see people review every chapter and letting me know that I'm not losing anyone's attention ^_^

MinNinniach: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for correcting me. I had no idea until you told me that. I'm either going to edit that chapter or I'm going to work off it. I'm kind of torn in the decision at the moment haha, but thank you for the review and let me know if you see any other mistakes ^_^

Noxy the Proxy : Here's the next chapter, fresh out of the oven. So fresh I just finished it an hour ago!

Drakefire: omg this review, is probably my most favorite so far. It made me so incredibly happy, thank you for saying that! I hope I don't end up disappointing you!

amrawo: I'm glad you're liking it so far, and I hope you also like this chapter!

Nienna-Elven-Warrior: Thank you! That was exactly the angle I was going for. I was afraid people would start feeling there was a romantic thing going on between her and Aragorn, so I've really been stressing in the last couple chapters that there's no romantic bond, and I'm not really planning on there to be one. So thank you for assuring me I was getting the point across! :D

chantierra10: I'm really glad you liked it! I try to make my chapters pretty long so they last longer. I know what it's like to read like a 20 chapter story and finishing it in like an hour, I'm glad my chapters are going by fast though, that means people like them, right? ^_^

Okay, so those are all the lovely people who reviewed last chapter. I'm gonna try to remember to have this at the beginning on each chapter. But yeah, keep reviewing everyone!

* * *

_Curled up to this lullaby_

_Even when the music's gone_

* * *

"The ring bearer is setting out on the quest of Mount Doom. And you who have travel with him, no oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will." Elrond spoke to the fellowship two months after the council. Now all of Rivendell surrounded them by the entrance to see them off, most of them most likely expecting never to see them again. Michelle saw Aragorn look to Arwen with sad eyes. Michelle saw the two of them say their good byes earlier, and watched painfully as they could now only speak with their eyes. She knew it would be the last time the two would see each other for a while.

"Farewell, hold to your purpose and may all the blessings of elves, of men, and all freefolk go with you." Elrond gave them their final blessing and they all bowed their heads respectfully.

"The fellowship awaits the ring bearer." Gandalf said, summoning Frodo to the head of the group. The hobbit gave one farewell look at Rivendell and slowly turned around to look at each fellowship member. When his eyes rested on Michelle she gave him one of her winning wide grins. "I'm right behind you." This brought a genuine smile to Frodo's face and continued to the head of the group. Michelle was practically bursting with excitement that the journey had finally begun after months of training. For the last two months she practiced her sword fighting with Aragorn in the mornings and Archery with Legolas in the afternoon, then in evening after dinner she would either hang out with Aragorn or Legolas or sometimes both until she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open anymore. It was hard work, but a lot of fun and it paid off. Michelle could now hold her own with the sword and was hitting the target every time with Legolas. Every now and then she would get the bullseye but it was out of luck.

"Do not worry, your aim will improve with practice." Legolas told her.

Michelle was at the back of the Fellowship, between Legolas and Aragorn. As she took the first couple of steps out of Rivendell she realized Aragorn was not following behind her. "Aragorn?" She stopped and looked back, seeing him looking at Arwen, and he could see his torn expression. After a couple of moments, Aragorn gave his beloved a final nod of farewell and followed after the rest of the fellowship.

"You okay?" Michelle asked after she waited behind for him and walked a couple yards behind the fellowship. He gave her a side glance full of pain before looking forward.

"Choosing to go on this fellowship is the hardest decision I have ever had to make." He answered.

"Well… than why did you choose to come?" Michelle asked, "You didn't have to."

"True, but I am not that selfish. Destroying the one ring would bring her a sense of safeness she has long forgotten. I would do anything for her never to feel evil again."

"Wow… " was all Michelle could say, she never imagined Aragorn feeling that much love for anything. They quickly caught up to the rest of the group and Michelle quickly ran behind Legolas.

"Excited?" He asked her over his shoulder.

"A little bit, a little sad at leaving too. I'm not looking forward to sleeping on the ground again." Michelle huffed. She had packed herself two blankets, three sets of clothes and other nessecities in her pack and Michelle had a comfort plan. One blanket on top of her, one blanket under her, and her clothes on top of her pack as a makeshift pillow. It wouldn't be as uncomfortable as the trip to Rivendell, but would not even compare to the comfort of the Rivendell bed she had grown accustomed too.

Legolas chuckled quietly. "Well if that is your only concern I think you will adapt."

"Unhappily but eventually." Michelle agreed.

After a couple hours of hiking they climbed along the side of a steep mountain, Rivendell still in sight behind them.

"Okay… something tells me this trip is going to take longer than I thought…" Michelle said, looking back glumly at Rivendell.

"Yes, but it will be worth it." Legolas told her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We just started and you already want it to end?" Aragorn asked, obviously amused.

"It's not like I want it to end today… just sooner than it's actually going to." Michelle corrected him.

"Oh of course, because that makes sense." Aragorn rolled his eyes, a smile across his lips.

They continued hiking until the end of the day when they set up camp in a stone structure. It kind of reminded me Michelle of weather top, but nowhere need as big. They dropped their packs inside the structure to relax while Legolas and Boromir went to find firewood and Aragorn went to hunt. After making her bed under a small arch, she decided to go over next to where the hobbits were with the rest of the fellowship.

"Ah, Lady Michelle. I do not think we have had much of a chance to meet until now." Gandalf said to her approach, grasping her hand in a shake.

"It's an honor, but please just call me Michelle." She smiled politely, taking a seat next to Pippin. "It is also an honor to meet you master dwarf." She said to Gimli, bowing her head.

"Aye, a pleasure lass." He grumbled bowing his own head. They made small conversation, Aragorn had told Gandalf about how she had come from a different world and Gimli in turn found out. Michelle held her breath expecting the worse, but felt relieved when they said they believed her.

"Thank you for believing me. It has not been an easy transition, and sometimes I still feel as though it's my first day here, but I like this place much more than my old one and if I had to choose it would be to stay here." Gandalf nodded at her words.

"That's good to hear, Aragorn is grateful for your company from the past months."

"He has become a very good and trustworthy friend." Michelle smiled.

"That is good to hear." He nodded. "Are you fairing well on the journey so far?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I've been focusing too much on my combat skills and not enough on my endurance." Michelle said, her legs feeling as if they would drop off. "But I feel that will change in a matter of days."

"Indeed. You are a lot stronger than I first took you for. I am glad I was proved wrong."

Michelle ducked her head as a blush of embarrassment crept up her face. "Thank you for your praise, I only hope to keep getting stronger and one day be as good as Aragorn or Legolas."

"Yes, but they have had years of training, you have had eight short months. By the end of this journey I am sure you will be able to match their skill." Gandalf said reassuringly.

"Thank you. I hope you are right." She nodded.

For the rest of her time waiting for Aragorn or Legolas to return she spoke with Frodo, making sure the hobbit was okay. Taking on this quest with the burden of the ring could not be easy.

"I'll protect you until the end Frodo." She promised, and the hobbit smiled.

"Thank you Michelle. I am grateful you decided to come."

"Anytime. I wouldn't miss this for the world." She smiled, leaning back onto the stone.

She listened to the groups conversation for a little while but she was beginning to feel herself drift to sleep, which Michelle didn't want at all. "I'm gonna go look for Aragorn." She said, jumping up quickly. She got up too fast though and felt herself become dizzy and light headed. After a moment the feeling subsided.

"Don't wander off too far." Gandalf told her. She nodded that she wouldn't and grabbed her sword. She learned to always expect the worst.

She walked around the plains that surrounded them, looking for any sign of him or Legolas but she couldn't spot them. She walked to the ledge of the cliff near them, wondering if maybe they had climbed down there, but did not see them there either. "Where could they be…" she sighed, staring out over the cliff into the night below. It was there she couldn't help but think about home, her parents even though they didn't pay attention to her they weren't the worst. Her old job which was the funnest job she had ever had, working at Hollister and Michelle found her passion for working in retail, and then Kevin… She had been suppressing memories of him the most, memories of their year and a half together, sleeping over each other's houses every night, and their first kiss and how she thought they were going to last forever. And then of course seeing him kiss that red head, Michelle felt tears pooling behind her eyes, tears she had been suppressing for the last eight months and finally she found she could no longer hold them back. She laid on her side and let herself succumb to the quiet sobs that broke free from her. She was so focused on her home sickness she did not notice the footsteps coming towards her.

"Michelle?" Aragorn asked unsure from behind her, making Michelle jump up with a hiccup. She was going to make up a lie about why she was just lying on the ground making crying noises, but she could tell by his expression he already knew, which made Michelle cry even harder.

"Aragorn." She cried as the ranger sat next to her and she buried her face in his chest, Aragorn was the closest thing she had to a father.

"Sshh…" he quieted her, stroking her hair, "What ails you?"

"I think I'm homesick…" she sniffled.

"All will be well. Perhaps you will see your home again one day." He said comfortingly.

"Yeah… but at the same time, if I leave this place then I'll be homesick again." She cried

"Well, there will most likely be a time where you will be able to choose between returning to your world and staying here. So when that times come, where will you go? You do not have to decide now, but it is something to think about." He told her and Michelle nodded, still soaking his cloak with tears.

"Let's get you back to camp, Legolas should have the fire going by now and Boromir is working on cooking dinner."

"Oh god." She said smiling at imaging Boromir cooking anything, making Aragorn smile.

"Hey! Is she alright?" Legolas's voice called and she looked up to see the elf running towards them.

"She's unharmed." Aragorn told the elf when he made it to them. "Just homesick."

"I thought you may have been hurt when I heard you had not arrived back at camp, me and Aragorn went in two different directions looking for you." Legolas explained, kneeling next to her.

"I personally feared you had fallen off the cliff." Aragorn added, making Michelle giggle and slap his side playfully.

"Thank you for your confidence in me. Means a lot." She said with a laugh.

"I was just at camp and dinner has been prepared, are you ready to go back?" Legolas asked, and Michelle nodded her reply.

"I am going to go ahead and tell the others we have found you." Aragorn said, and with a nod sprinted towards the stone structure.

"I'm sorry for worrying everyone…" Michelle sighed.

"Do not fret, you are safe which is all that matters." Legolas smiled, standing up and holding a hand out to her to help her up. Michelle nodded and slowly walked back in the direction of camp, head down. Legolas looked disturbed at how down she seemed and before Michelle had a clue to what was going on, Legolas grabbed her around the waist and swung her onto his back.

"W-what, hey! Put me down!" she said, playful laughter breaking through her voice.

"At your pace we would have gotten to camp by morning." Legolas laughed, holding onto her legs.

"Fair enough, but can you at least put me in a more comfortable position?" She didn't mind being carried by Legolas, not in the slightest, however she had always hated being carried upside down. Legolas put her down for a moment and soon enough they were on their way back to camp, Michelle riding piggy back on Legolas.

"C'mon horsie, faster!" She joked, hugging Legolas' neck. She felt vibarations through Legolas' chest as he laughed.

"You want me to run with you on my back?" he asked her skeptically.

"Actually… no, keep walking." She laughed. She absolutely hated when people ran while they carried her. Not in a haha, I hate you way but I'm still happy, no. More like a 'if you don't put me down in the next three seconds I'm going to punch you in the face.' Ask her ex boyfriend, she really did punch him… on accident of course.

"That's what I thought." Legolas teased. When they got close to camp Legolas put her down, not wanting to make the fellowship members give them odd stares. Apparently piggy back rides weren't a common thing to give unless it was to your kid or wife, Michelle being neither.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now…" Michelle yawned when they arrived. She could see most of the fellowship was already asleep, Aragorn and Boromir being the only two awake.

"Good night Mellon Nin." Legolas bid her, with a parting nod as he went to go keep watch.

"Good night as well Mellon Nin." She called after him before going next to Aragorn.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked her, Michelle nodded a sleepy reply. "That's good, you should go to sleep."

"I know… where are you sleeping, I'll pull my bedroll over to yours." Michelle suggested. Aragorn pointed his pack, lying in the corner of two walls. Michelle nodded and pulled her own belongings over next to his. She saw Aragorn nod to Boromir in good night and came over next to Michelle.

"Why do you want to sleep next to me?" he asked rolling his bedroll out, Michelle already tucked under neath her blanket and cloak.

"I dunno, just for it to be like the good ol' days." She smiled. Aragorn nodded at the answer then turned over to face her.

"Are you sure this is what you want, coming on this quest?" He asked her seriously. Michelle hesitated a moment but nodded.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid, however I want to be here. I would rather fight and protect this world with friends than watch from a distance alone." Aragorn nodded, looking sad.

"I still apologize for getting you involved."

"Don't be, I'm happy I became involved." She smiled.

The friends didn't speak anymore after that, laying in silence left to their own thoughts. Michelle didn't want to think about what would happen if Aragorn or Legolas died on the journey, she couldn't and didn't want to imagine it. So instead she closed her eyes, thinking about happy thoughts like how Legolas gave her a piggy back ride and memories of Rivendell, spending her days training with Aragorn and Legolas. As sleep tugged at her, she decided to finally curl up in a ball against the back of the sleeping Aragorn, stealing his warmth and falling asleep.

Michelle opened her eyes, expecting to be back at camp, but of course things could never go her way. She opened them instead to find herself in the grassy field she had become much too accustomed to.

"Oh not again…" she groaned. Not wanting to drag the dream out, she decided to get it over with and ran into the burning village towards the screams of the little girl being burned alive. Michelle expected to find the girl screaming and crying, she expected to see the orc, and she expected witness the sword being pierced through her as she was paralyzed in the dream, however even though she knew each of these things would happen, the fear she felt was raw and felt like the first time all over again.

"Please someone wake me up, please someone wake me up…" Michelle prayed as the orc approached her, blade drawn and ready to attack. No one woke her up though and saw the blade piercing through her stomach and fell to the ground, crumpled in pain. She knew the pain wasn't real, it was a the pain she had felt on the first day replaying through her mind, making it think it was real, but no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that, it still made her cry out in pain.

"why… why is the dream not ending." She asked herself. The dream always ended once she was stabbed. Now she was lying on the ground, seeing blood gush out of her wound and soaking the dirt in red liquid. She looked up to see the orc looming over her, preparing for the killing strike.

"No… Aragorn! Legolas!" she cried in terror, violently kicking out towards the orc, closing her eyes tightly, not wanting to see the final blow. She felt arms grab her and suddenly kicked out against them. "Stay away!" she cried out, curling in a feetle position. Suddenly Michelle felt herself become cold and wet and the bubble of her dream burst open allowing her back into the reality.

She sat up as soon as she awakened, clutching her blanket. Her body was soaked but she wasn't sure if it was from sweat or whatever had woken her up. She felt a wave of nausea hit her and hunched over, trying her best to fight it down, slowly becoming aware of her surroundings.

"Michelle, Michelle!" A voice called, and she looked up, still in a daze to see Aragorns face above her.

"Dizzy…" was all she was able to get out, before squinting her eyes closed, her head throbbing.

"Water, get me water." She heard Aragorn said and heard footsteps retreat away quickly. "Michelle can you hear me?" Aragorn asked. She knew he was right next to her but he sounded as if he were on the other side of camp.

"Barely…" she muttered, "I'm gonna be sick."

"I'm going to pick you up and bring you to the edge of camp." Aragorn warned her and soon her nauseaness doubled .

"I'm gonna be sick… I'm gonna get sick all over you in a matter of seconds if you don't put me down." Michelle said quickly. After a few more moments Aragorn laid her on the ground, holding her hair as dinner left her stomach.

After a few minutes, Michelle laid over on her side, feeling a little bit better, but still felt light headed. She opened her eyes to see Legolas run over carrying a canteen of water and handed it to Aragorn, who handed it to her. Michelle took it gratefully, taking a few gulps, get the vile taste out of her mouth.

"Thanks." She muttered, resting her head against the cold stone ground.

"They're getting worse." Aragorn noted, Michelle couldn't read his expression, Aragorn had a nack for poker faces.

"You don't say." She growled.

Aragorn sighed, knowing better than to pursue the subject when she was in a foul mood. "Are you alright at least?"

"I feel like I'm dying…not literally." she added quickly at Aragorn's look of panic.

"Do you want to try to sleep?" he asked her.

"Not much else I can do… do me a favor and carry me back though, I'm still dizzy…" she muttered. Aragorn picked her up and she was afraid she was going to be sick again as Aragorn set her down. "What time is it?" she muttered.

"It's still dark, the sun will not be up for another few hours." Aragorn told her, pulling her blanket and cloak up around her. "I'll wake you once the fellowship begins to stir."

Michelle simply nodded, too exhausted to do anything else, sleep pulling her back.

The next day was better as they walked along the top of mountain, which really didn't even seem like a mountain to Michelle. To her, it seemed like a really big hill, really really big hill. She imagined mountains as being pointy covered in rocks and snow but this was pretty flat, having the curve of a top of a hill. It was barren for the most part, a couple bushes and shrubs dotting the landscape but besides that just of dirt and sand and broken rocks scattering the ground like broken glass. She felt bad for the hobbits who didn't wear shoes, but then again their feet were a lot thicker than hers.

"Not that I'm not having the time of my life but are we going to have a change in scenery soon?" Michelle asked Gandalf after sprinting to the head of the group. The old wizard just chuckled and stroked her hair affectionately.

"Patience my child, if you knew the other paths we could have taken you would feel happy we are taking this road." He told her.

"I guess, I'm just bored, and Aragorn's being grumpy." She groaned. She didn't like being bored, she got in a bad mood if she was bored.

"Well I suggest you try the hobbits. I always find myself entertained when in their company." Gandalf suggested. She nodded in agreement and stopped to wait for the hobbits to catch up to her.

"Merry, Pippin!" she called, waving them over.

"Well, hello Michelle!" Pippin greeted her enthusiastically.

"What can we help you with." Merry asked

"I'm bored, and you guys always seem to help with that, so I thought maybe I'd walk with you guys." Michelle asked.

"Of course! Me and Merry were just thinking of a few songs we used to sing in the green dragon if you'd like to join in." Pippin suggested in his usual enthusiastic voice. Michelle couldn't help but smile and quickly nodded to their suggestion.

So there the three of them were, walking along the top of a mountain, singing songs that hobbits would sing during their drunken states. Michelle didn't know the words but the hobbits were patient with her and soon enough she was starting to sing along with the chorus. Even Frodo joined in after a couple of songs which made their singing group even more cheerful and full of laughs. It was entertaining watching them jumping and clapping their hands to the beat, sometimes getting dizzy and tripping over their own feet. One thing was for certain, Michelle certainly wasn't bored anymore.

Michelle stayed with them until sundown when the fellowship decided to break for camp and then men went to hunt and gather wood. Boromir hunted today and brought them back a couple turkey looking things, she wasn't quite sure what it was called, but it tasted pretty similar to turkey so Michelle liked it. Legolas the rabbit was of course eating berries and other things he had found while scavenging for firewood. The things that elf ate made Michelle shiver sometimes.

"Hey." Michelle smiled, taking a seat next to the him after waiting a couple of minutes for him to consume his food.

"Good evening Mellon Nin, how do you fair?" Legolas greeted her.

"I fair good." She smiled. "And you?"

"I am well." He said.

They sat there in silence for a while, staring up at the stars. Michelle couldn't help but think about the journey ahead of them and the dangers they faced. She knew sooner or later they would come across an enemy. Enemies meant danger, what if somebody got hurt… or killed, what if she got hurt or killed. What were the chanced that all ten of them would see the end of the journey.

"What are you thinking about?" Legolas asked, noticing the worry that took residence in her features. Michelle looked over t the elf and imagined and imagined his crumpled dead body. Michelle let a shiver of fear go through her before pushing away the thought.

"I… I'm just afraid." She admitted. "I don't want to see any of us get hurt… but in my head I know it's inevitable. " she sighed. "I mean, it's hard not to think about it. I wonder if I'm even going to make it to the end of the thing without getting myself killed."

Michelle felt Legolas rub his hand on her back comfortingly. "Me and Aragorn would be dead before we let anything hurt you." Legolas told her, staring off. "Do not doubt your own skills though. You are well trained and are more than a match for most orcs and goblins."

"I guess… I won't know until I actually face one again."

"This time you will be the victor. If you can defend yourself against a Nazgul, you can surely best an orc."

"Maybe you're right." She smiled softly.

Legolas looked hesitant for a moment as if unsure about something. "Michelle… are you alright? With the nightmares and all."

Michelle shrugged her shoulders. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry about it, I'll figure something out." She smiled.

"If you're sure." Legolas nodded. They had a little more small talk but after a little while Michelle nodded a good night and went to her bedroll. Aragorn was already laying in his awake.

"Are you going to kick me tonight?" he teased as she huddled in her blankets.

"Did I actually kick you?" Michelle asked laughing a little.

"When I tried to wake you last night, yes. We had to pour some water on you to awaken you." Michelle and Aragorn laughed at that.

"I'm sorry." She said, after she regained her breath from laughing. Aragorn dismissed it.

"Twas not your fault, no need to apologize."

"Yeah but still." She smiled, curling onto her side in a cat position.

"Good night Michelle."

"Good night Uncle Aragorn." She teased. Aragorn pushed her head playfully but left her alone as she drifted off.

The next day was pretty uneventful. Walking, walking, and more walking. Every now and then some talking, followed by more walking.

The next day though had the trip's first excitement. They found a nice spot for camp pretty early in the day, probably around four in the afternoon, and decided to relax for the rest of the day. Sam was already preparing a vegetable stir fry with sausage and Boromir was training Merry and Pippin with their swords. The fellowship was in good spirits, Aragorn watching the sparring session, Gimli talking with Aragorn, and Legolas keeping a watchful eye out for enemies. Michelle decided to join Aragorn and watched the hobbits take on Boromir.

"We must hold this course west of the Misty Mountains for forty days. If our luck holds the gap of rohan will still be open to us. There our road turns east to Mordor." Gandalf told them as he took a seat on rock. Gimli joining him.

"Two, One, Five. Good, very good." Boromir praised Pippin as he taught the hobbit through the steps of parrying.

"Move your feet." Aragorn suggested to the hobbit.

"You got good Pippin." Merry said to his friend and turned to Boromir as Pippin thanked Merry for the compliment.

"Faster." Boromir said, training with Merry now.

"If anyone were to ask for my opinion, which I note their not, I'd say we're taking the long way round." Gimli said, his dwarvish voice echoing in their camp making the conversation easy to eavesdrop. "Gandalf, we could pass through the mines of Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome." The dwarf suggested.

"No Gimli, I would not take the roads through Moria unless I had no other choice."

Michelle looked to Legolas as he suddenly stood on a rock, squinting his eyes to look at a distant cloud. 'That's a dark cloud… maybe we'll have rain.' Michelle thought to herself. She was going to ask Legolas what he saw until she heard Pippin curse in pain from besides them and saw Boromir had accidently nitched the hobbits finger.

"Ooh, sorry!" The man apologized quickly, holding a hand out to Pippin to inspect the wound. The angry hobbit instead kicked the man while Merry went around and hit the side of Boromirs leg with the blunt side of his sword causing the man to fall over. While he was vulnerable the two hobbits tackled and dog piled on top of him.

"Get him!"

"For the shire!" The hobbits yelled while wrestling Boromir. Michelle saw Aragorn chuckle in amusement before standing up and walking over to them.

"Gentlemen that's enough!" Aragorn scolded them, grabbing the hobbits by the back of their shirts. Before he had a chance to pull them up though, the hobbits each grabbed a leg and pulled them from under them, causing Aragorn to fall right on his ass. Michelle actually fell off the rock she was sitting on from laughing so hard. Never in her life had she seen Aragorn taken by surprise and from all people it was Merry and Pippin. "Have a nice trip Aragorn?" Michelle said through fits of laughter. She couldn't remember ever laughing so hard since she arrived.

The four men continued to wrestle on the ground and Michelle found herself cheering for the hobbits.

"C'mon pippin! He's weak underneath the arm!" Michelle cheered.

"Michelle, you're next." Aragorn threatened. Michelle simply stuck her tongue out in reply. She wasn't paying attention to what was going on with everyone else until she heard Sam ask "What is that." Causing her to look up at the cloud Legolas was still investigating.

"Nothing, it's just a wiff of cloud." Gimli grumbled.

"It's moving fast." Boromir said worried, "Against the wind."

"Crebain from Dunland." Legolas said quickly, everyone seemed to understand immediately except for Michelle. "Crebain? Is that some kind of pastry?" Michelle asked confused as Legolas grabbed her by the wrist.

"Hide! Hurry, Frodo, Michelle!" Aragorn called grabbing his sword and pack from the nearest cover. Michelle decided it would be smart to stick with Legolas as she sprinted with him, grabbing her pack and following Legolas to the closest bush. They quickly threw the stuff in and the elf lightly pushed Michelle in first.

She landed in the bush and laid flat down on her stomach, looking warily up at the sky. In a heartbeat Legolas was in and was lying on top of her protectively, an arm around her holding her down and making her hidden. Michelle was about to ask the elf a very confused question but he silenced her by covering her mouth with his hand.

Before she could attempt to remove his hand from her mouth the sound of a thousand crows flew above them, startling Michelle and making her huddle underneath Legolas for safety. The caw of crows and the sound of beating wings filled the air, giving her the urge to block her ears. She had always hated loud noises, and these things were freakin loud. After the birds and swooped by them, and turned around, and went back in the direction they came from, everyone finally began to crawl from their hiding spots. Michelle noticed Legolas had not moved and licked his hand, making him jump and quickly pull his hand away.

"Umm… Legolas, I think we can get out now." Michelle suggested, amused at the way the elf was rubbing his hand against his pant leg in disgust.

"Huh? Oh of course, my apologies." He said, crawling from the space first.

"Just thought I would tell you before the rest of the fellowship thinks we're up to something." Michelle playfully winked at him as his cheeks burned red. He looked like he was about to retort something but quickly thought better of it, so instead he grabbed a pack and returned to the fellowship, leaving Michelle to her giggles at the elf's reaction. She had forgotten how prude people are in this world. She shook her head and grabbed her pack, quickly running next to Gandalf, helping him from his hiding place.

"What were those things?" she asked quietly to the wizard.

"Spies of Saruman." He answered her, loud enough for the rest of the fellowship to hear. "The passage South is being watched….we must take the Pass of Caradhras."

At first Michelle didn't think it was that bad a thing, yay the pass of some word she couldn't pronounce. But then she saw everyone look up at a mountain, a snow capped mountain that was higher than any other mountain around them. "Oh shit…" Michelle groaned.

* * *

I think I'm gonna leave off here ladies and gentleman. I was hoping to get to Moria by the end of this chapter but then this would go from a five thousand word chapter to a ten thousand word chapter, so I'll go Caradhras next chapter, and then Moria will be the one after that. But this leaves me a lot of writing room for the next chapter so if you don't want it to be a really short chapter, review with ideas on what you want to see happen! Plot twists, fighting, romance, drama, it's all up to you folks! So remember to review and message me your ideas!

Also, if you want me to do a chapter, or part of a chapter in different POV, also review that! Cause I'm just gonna keep doing it from Michelle's unless I get inspiration to do otherwise. So, you readers play a big influence in this story, so influence me!


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